Gaara's One True Wish
by Desi-Grasshopper
Summary: All Gaara ever wanted since he was little, the only wish he made on a star, was to love and be loved. He never thought it could actually come true...Read to find out and REVIEW! MU! Warning OOCness with Toph! MANGA MASHUP!
1. The Very First Time

_Here's another manga-mash up. I decided to mix Naruto with stuff like Avatar: the Last Airbender, Inuyasha, and (I know it's weird) Yugioh. Later in the series, you will see characters from Fullmetal Alchemist, Get Backers, Ultra Maniac, and even some pre Fruits Basket and Hana-Kimi (by that I mean Shigure, Hatori, Ayame from Furuba and Dr. Umeda from Hana-kimi-when they were in High School).I've also tweaked the ages a bit. This one is on the romance of Toph and Gaara (yes, yes I know it's weird, but come on!). For now, I hope you enjoy!!_

"Well here we are. Konaha village, the site for this year's Chunnin Exam." announced Temari.

"Also known as the site for the Sand villages _Operation Beat Konaha into a bloody pulp_." replied Kankuro. Temari elbowed him in the ribs. They weren't supposed to talk about the plan. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to get water. If you two make any trouble, I will not hesitate to bring your miserably insignificant lives to a painful end. Got it?" Gaara instructed. Temari and Kankuro nervously nodded.

"D-don't worry G-Gaara-sama. We'll be fine." reassured Temari. Gaara scowled, then disappeared. Temari sighed in relief. Gaara was such a handful. Temari and Kankuro began wandering around the town. It was SO boring around.

"So Temari, about the mission…" Kankuro began, when BAM!!!!!! He was run into by a little girl with jet black hair and blue eyes.

"Ouch…that hurt!!" the little girl yelled. Kankuro scowled and lifted the kid up.

"Didn't anyone tell you to watch where you're going, brat?" Kankuro whispered, dangerously.

"I-I'm sorry!!!!! Now, put me down!!!!" demanded the little girl. Right then, two kids ran up, a boy and a girl.

"Rin-chan! I thought I told you to be careful!" said the young girl. She had black hair and light green eyes that seemed to look nowhere. She turned to Kankuro.

"You bastard! Let my teammate go NOW! Or else!!!' she commanded and instantly stamped her foot on the ground, sending a long column of rock up, levitating it in the air above Kankuro's head. Kankuro grinned.

"Temari, let's have some _fun_ before Gaara-sama comes!" he suggested. Temari shook her head in disgust.

"Kankuro, leave that girl and her teammates alone." Temari ordered. Kankuro scowled at her.

"You're no fun. You're too paranoid." Kankuro said, sticking his tongue out. Temari sighed and crossed her arms.

"Whatever. Just remember, I had NOTHING to do with this." Kankuro grinned and twisted the kid up. The girl raised the column of rock closer to Kankuro's head, when…

"Kankuro, Temari. I thought I told you not to make any trouble." said a grim voice from the trees. Kankuro looked up. It was Gaara. Kankuro dropped the girl immediately.

"S-sorry Gaara-sama! That girl just bumped into me and I thought it was an enemy and…" Kankuro rambled when Gaara cut in.

"I don't give a damn about your sniveling excuses. Next time that happens I will kill you." Gaara interjected dangerously. Gaara jumped down and turned toward the little girl and her teammates. The black haired girl dropped the stone down.

"I apologize for my teammate's rudeness. They can be foolish at times." Gaara said. While apologizing, he kept his eyes on the back-haired girl with the bright green eyes.

"_That girl...she seems so powerful. Not to mention she's kinda cute."_ thought Gaara. He pointed to the little girl and her teammates.

"You seem like very _interesting_ shinobi. Who are you? Where are you from?" he inquired. The black-haired girl grinned.

"My name is Toph Bei-Fong. This is Rin Ishtar," there she pointed to the little girl Kankuro had attacked, "and this is Zuko." and pointed to a tall gangly teenager with black hair and a flame shaped scar on his left eye. "We each come from a different place. I am from the Earth Kingdom, Zuko is from the Fire Nation, and Rin is a time immigrant from feudal Japan. We have come to participate in the Chunnin Exams. What's your name and where are you from?" Gaara scowled.

"My name is Gaara of Sand. I'm from the Sand village. My teammates and I are participating in the Chunnin Exams as well." he replied. Toph grinned cheekily.

"I guess we'll be seeing more of each other some time soon" she replied and waved goodbye, then left along with her teammates. As Gaara watched them go, he thought the same thing over and over again.

"_That black haired girl…what's with her eyes?_"

_Ok, ok, I know that Rin from Inuyasha doesn't have blue eyes, but, I've decided to make her a little more interesting then usual. After all, this is a manga mash-up fanfic. Please review!!!!_


	2. Toph's Opinion

_Yes, I decided to do a Toph x Gaara pairing. If you wanna know why, you'd better review OR ELSE!!!! Enjoy!!!!!_

"Rin-chan, I thought we told you not to wander off like that! Now we're going to have to talk to Ishizu-sensei." said Zuko to the little girl next to him.

"Whatcha gonna need to talk to Ishizu about?" asked a voice from the trees. Zuko, Toph, and Rin looked up. Standing in the trees was a handsome young boy with blond hair and tanned skin. His eyes were bright purple and on his back, he carried a bag that held a strange staff.

"Marik-san, what a relief! I thought it might be Odion-sama, or someone else. exclaimed Zuko. Marik grinned cheekily and jumped down.

"Marik-ojisan1!!!!!!!" yelled Rin and she ran over to Marik and hugged him tightly around the waist. Marik chuckled.

"Hey Rin!! You excited for the Chunnin Exams?" he asked Rin. She nodded fervently. He grinned and turned back towards his teammates. His grin dropped immediately and became a stern expression.

"So what exactly did you want to tell Neesan2?" he asked softly. Zuko and Toph looked at each other and Toph proceeded to fill Marik in with the details on the group of Sand Village shinobi that they had bumped into. When she finished, Marik looked even sterner.

"This Gaara person, did you sense anything weird about him?" Marik asked them. Toph, Zuko, and Rin thought for a little bit.

"Come to think of it, ya there was something weird about him. For one thing, the tattoo on his forehead was the kanji character AI3, and it looked like it was carved it blood." Zuko said.

"There was something else weird about him. The vibrations of his footsteps were like Rin and that Naruto kid we met while serving as backup for that mission in the Land of Waves." added Toph. At hearing this, Marik's frown deepened. He then shook his head.

"I'll talk to Ishizu and Odion. Maybe they know something about this team. Now then, let's get going. You need to prepare for the Chunnin Exams. Trust me, they're difficult." he replied. They set off to look for Ishizu. While walking, Toph was thinking about the boy they had just bumped to.

"_His footsteps are just like Rin's and Naruto"s. That means he's got something in him too."_

_Flashback_

"_My name is Gaara of Sand. I'm from the Sand village. My teammates and I are participating in the Chunnin Exams as well."_

_End of Flashback_

"_Gaara...that has a nice ring to it. And his voice. It was so...appealing. Wait, what am I thinking? I'm not like one of those annoying fangirls after that Sasuke." _her cheeks turned bright red while thinking and she shook her head to clear her head of those thoughts. Luckily, no one noticed. They kept walking and Toph kept her mind busy, trying to distract herself from the strange thoughts about the Sand Village boy they just met.

1 Ojisan-uncle in Japanese

2 Neesan-sister in Japanese

3 AI-kanji character for love


	3. We Meet Again I See

Gaara, Kankuro, Temari entered the room that was supposed to be the classroom for the first stage of Chunnin Exams. There were hundreds of people there, looking tense. They went deep into the crowd and waited for the proctor for the first exams to begin. An hour or so later, there was a slight commotion in the front of the room.

"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I WILL BEAT YOU ALL!!!!!!! JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!!!!!!!!" said a blonde haired kid at the front of the room in an orange coat. Right after he said it, a young pink-haired girl smacked him on the head.

"NARUTO YOU ASSHOLE!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU????!!!!!!" she screamed.

"You got a death wish or something, idiot?"

"UUUUGH!!!!!!! What are you, nuts?!"

"Nice going, knucklehead."

"Way to go, weirdo!!!!!!" and a few more remarks similar to that followed. Kankuro frowned and began loosening the string around the bundle on his back. Gaara immediately raised his hand signaling him to stop.

"We don't want any trouble right now, do we?" Gaara said, not even looking at him. Then all of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice near where all the commotion started.

"NARUTO!!!!! SAKURA!!!!!! WHAT'S-HIS-NAME, I mean SASUKE!!!! WHAT'S UP?????!!!!!!" Gaara gasped inwardly and turned bright red, his eyes widening.

"_It's that girl!!! What was her name again? Oh ya, Toph!!!"_ he thought to himself. Kankuro turned to him, and to his surprise, he saw Gaara's face was bright red and eyes wide. He turned to Temari.

"What's with Gaara-sama? He's bright red, like he's blushing or something. And his eyes are huge!" he asked Temari. Temari looked toward Gaara and, just like Kankuro said, he was bright red and wide-eyed. She turned back to Kankuro and shrugged her shoulders.

Toph entered the classroom with Zuko and Rin. Rin looked around and squealed,

"LOOK! It's Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun!!" and began to run towards a group of people. She ran towards Sasuke and took a look at him.

"Sasuke-kun, why's there a girl growing on your back?" she asked innocently. Naruto, Toph and Zuko cracked up and were laughing loudly. Sasuke blushed and pushed Ino off. He then pulled Rin into a tight hug. Ino was scowling and Sakura looked at him sadly. Zuko and Toph walked over to the group and greeted them and introduced themselves to those they didn't know. Suddenly, Zuko looked around.

"Toph-kun, its Katara, Sokka, and Aang!' he said coolly. Toph looked around and waived excitedly. A short boy who was bald with a blue arrow on his head ran over to her along with a beautiful girl with a long brown braid and darkish skin and a boy who looked just like the girl, except his hair was in a mohawk-like ponytail and he seemed older.

"Toph-kun, Zuko-san, Rin-chan!!! You're participating in the Chunnin Exams also?" asked Aang. Toph punched her fist in the air and replied,

"Like hell ya!!!!" and gave him a high-five. Katara shook her head.

"Toph-chan, you shouldn't use language like that in front of Rin. She's too young." She admonished. Toph turned to her and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Dude, Katara, chill. It's ok. She's heard Marik-san use worse language, and not when he's hurt himself either. And don't use –chan!!!!! Use –kun instead." Toph replied. Katara groaned.

"Katara, you can lay off Toph, ok? She's cool." Sokka said and he went and gave her a one armed squeeze. Toph pushed him away playfully. She then began talking to them all, unaware to the unusual amount of attention that was being paid to her at that moment.

Gaara was still staring at her.

"_My god, she's beautiful. And the way she laughs, it's heavenly. What is this feeling in my heart?"_ he thought to himself. As he saw the strange boy give a one-armed hug, his fists tighted and he clenched his teeth, relaxing as soon as Toph had pushed him away. Meanwhile Kankuro was drooling over the brown haired girl.

"Damn, she's one hot babe. I'd like a piece of her." he said and was soon elbowed by Temari. Their thoughts were soon interrupted by the entry of the proctor for the first exam who asked them to hand in their applications and sit in their assigned seats that they would be given when they handed in their forms. Soon afterwards, Gaara sat down and turned to see who was next to him. His eyes widened again. It was Toph. He decided to try and talk to her.

"We meet again, I see." he said. Toph turned around and raised her eyebrows.

"You're that Gaara dude I met, aren't you? Your brother attacked Rin-chan didn't he?" she replied coolly, although her heart was beating quickly and so loudly she was amazed he didn't ask her what that drum-like sound coming from her chest was.

"Yes that was, and once again I would like to apologize for their rudeness." He replied. Top shrugged and replied,

"It's no biggy!! To tell you the truth, I think if you, Zuko, and I hadn't arrived, I think your teammate would have been beaten into a bloody pulp. For a seven year old, Rin-chan's got a bad temper when provoked and no self-control." Gaara smirked inwardly. Then he became serious, as the exams were about to begin.


	4. I Hope He Made It

Toph put her pencil down. She looked up; there were still twenty minutes to spare.

"_Whew. That test was hard. Not to mention the fact that we had to cheat and subtly. I almost didn't make it."_ she thought. She peered in random directions, since she didn't know where Zuko-kun, Rin-chan, Aang-kun, Sokka-kun, and Katara chan were and she couldn't see them (seeing as she's blind).

"_I hope they managed to finish the test,"_ she thought and turned to her right, where Gaara was, _"and I hope he managed to do well. After all, I had to cheat off of his paper. But...I hope he passes also."_ she continued. Next to her, Gaara was thinking similar thoughts, although it was pretty much just only about Toph.

"_That Toph girl...she'd better pass,"_ Gaara thought, then shook his head, "_Why do I always think about her like this. It's not like I love her or anything. I mean hello??? I love only myself, I fight only for my self, I frickin LIVE only for myself. It's been that way my whole life and it's not like this random girl's gonna change that!!!! Then again..."_ he peered at Toph, who was staring idly into space with those drop-dead gorgeous pale green eyes that seemed to look nowhere, _"I haven't really seen any random girls who are just as cute as her. W-wait a sec. What am I saying? Why am I going ga ga for this girl I barely even know? I've barely said anything to her!!!!_

_Flashback 1_

"_I apologize for my teammate's rudeness. They can be foolish at times." Gaara said. While apologizing, he kept his eyes on the back-haired girl with the bright green eyes._

"_That girl...she seems so powerful. Not to mention she's kinda cute." thought Gaara. He pointed to the little girl and her teammates._

"_You seem like very interesting shinobi. Who are you? Where are you from?" he inquired. _

_Flashback 2_

"_We meet again, I see." he said. Toph turned around and raised her eyebrows._

"_You're that Gaara dude I met, aren't you? Your brother attacked Rin-chan didn't he?" she replied coolly, although her heart was beating quickly and so loudly she was amazed he didn't ask her what that drum-like sound coming from her chest was._

"_Yes that was, and once again I would like to apologize for their rudeness." He replied. Toph shrugged and replied,_

"_It's no biggy!! To tell you the truth, I think if you, Zuko, and I hadn't arrived, I think your teammates would have been beaten into a bloody pulp. For a seven year old, Rin-chan's got a bad temper when provoked and no self-control."_

_End of Flashbacks_

"_That isn't much. Besides, it's not like she would fall for me anyway."_ he concluded. Finally it was time for the tenth question.

"Before we begin, there are some things I'd like to say. If anyone on the shinobi team gets the answer to the final question wrong, you all fail and you will never be able to participate in the Chunnin Exams in your life!!!" announced the proctor ( Ibiki Morino). Everyone tensed up. Gaara stayed cool and calm and turned around. Toph had lost her cool and was shaking. Her pencil snapped in half, but she didn't notice. She was just staring up front and shaking uncontrollably. Gaara longed to put his arm around her and tell her everything would be fine and that she would pass. He managed to fight down this urge and stay indifferent.

"However," the proctor continued and here, the entire group perked up, "if you don't feel you are ready to proceed, you may drop out of the exams. This means that your entire team will be disqualified and will be unable to participate in the Chunnin Exams until the next one takes place." Everyone was silent, then a weedy looking shinobi from Village Hidden in the Mist raised his hand.

"I'm sorry guys, but I can't take it. I-I gotta drop out." he stuttered. After a small silence, two other shinobi stood up, and along with their cowardly comrade, they left the room. After a long silence, ten more people raised their hands and, along with their teammates, dropped out. Finally there were about 30 teams left. Suddenly there was another loud outburst, from the same shinobi that caused the first outburst.

"I don't care what you all say!!! I never give up and I don't back down. I can be a Genin leveled ninja for my whole life!!!!!! I'll still be Hokage!!!!! BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!" shouted the blonde haired knucklehead who had caused the commotion earlier. Toph smirked.

"That Naruto. He's so hyper and enthusiastic. Well, he certainly made me feel more confident." remarked Toph. Gaara turned to her.

"You know that kid?" he asked.

""Ya!! My team and his team did a B or A-ranked mission together. Plus his sensei and my sensei are close. I think theirs has a small crush on mine." she replied. Gaara merely raised his eyebrows. Then they faced the front, as the proctor was about to speak.

"Well, then. I guess it's time to announce the tenth and final question," he said, then took a deep breath and smiled wide, saying "Congratulations to all of you. You've passed the first stage of the Chunnin Exams." Everything was silent.

"What the hell?! That's the goddamn tenth question we all got worked up about?!! That's IT??!!!!!! WHAT A RIP-OFF!!!!! What's the meaning of this?" screamed Toph all of a sudden, her face livid with rage and confusion. The proctor looked at their direction and proceeded to explain.

"The tenth question didn't exist. It was to test your courage. We had to wipe out all those who weren't ready. But that's all null. You've all passed and to you all, I wish you the best of luck." With that he finished then looked up. Suddenly there was a crash in the window.

"MY NAMES ANKO MITARASHI AND I WILL BE YOUR PROCTOR FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE CHUNNIN EXAMS!!!! NOW ALL YOU COWARDLY MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP!!!!! IT'S TIME FOR THE SECOND PHASE OF THE CHUNNIN EXAM!!!!!! I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO MAKE A SINGLE FILE LINE BEHIND ME AND WE CAN GET STARTED!!!!!!! shouted a young woman (Anko). The first proctor shook his head exasperatedly, turned to the young woman and said,

"Anko, you're early. As usual." Anko looked embarrassed, and then regained her composure.

"NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT!!!!!! I'LL SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!!!" she said and left the building. Toph groaned.

"Don't tell me we have HER as our proctor. She's just weird. I will not be able to deal with her." she complained. They then left the room to prepare for the next day.


	5. End of the Second Chunnin Exams

Toph was panting. There were cuts all over her. Zuko followed her, covered in bruises as well and carrying Rin who was semiconscious with a serious fever and was whimpering. They entered the middle tower. Inside there was scroll with writing on it, but there was a blank spot.

"I guess we are supposed to open the scroll now." said Zuko. Toph just nodded wearily. Zuko placed Rin carefully on the floor, took a deep breath, and opened the scroll. The scroll exploded and Zuko dropped it. Where the scroll originally was, Marik was standing.

"Marik-san!!!!" exclaimed Zuko and Toph. Marik waived to them, then caught sight of Rin.

"What happened to Rin-chan? Is she Ok? Tell me!!!" he said. Toph bit her lip, and then walked up to him.

"Well... while we were in the forest, we bumped into this ninja group from Grass. Only, I don't think they were really from Grass. Anyway, they confronted us and attacked us. The thing is, they were mostly going towards Rin," she said, then hesitated. Marik motioned for her to continue. "So they went towards Rin and Zuko and I went to intercept them. Luckily, our scroll was with me and I had hidden it well. So anyway, they went towards Rin and we managed to block them. The girl who was in that group, well, she summoned a huge snake which nearly ate me, then went towards Rin. Rin couldn't move; it was like she was paralyzed with fear. So finally, she moved because Zuko managed to shove her out of the way. Then he took out his swords and begun to fight the ninja, who knocked him out. Then she, who I really think is a he, went towards Rin again. The she did this weird thing with her neck-" at this point Marik interrupted her.

"What did she/he do with her/his neck?" he asked. Toph hesitated then continued.

"She/he stretched it out. Anyway, (I'm sick of referring to Orochimaru as "he/she" so I'm referring to "he/she" as "it" until later) it bit Rin on the neck and disappeared. Rin screamed, became unconscious, and fell. She's got this mark on her neck. Anyway, that's what happened. We managed to retrieve a second scroll a couple hours later, once Zuko woke up and Rin's been regaining conscious. She's got a horrible fever." she concluded. Marik didn't respond, but walked towards Rin, kneeled down before her and put his hand on her forehead. Then he began to cool down her fever. As soon as he retrieved his hand, she woke up and looked around.

"Where am? Where are those shinobi?" she inquired. Zuko proceeded to fill her in. Then, Marik talked to them, wished them luck and walked off to look for Ishizu to tell her what had happened. Toph, Zuko, and Rin walked towards a door walking towards the door, Toph was thinking.

"_That was so traumatizing. I-I hope they didn't get to Naruto, or Sakura, or Sokka, Aang, or Katara. But I really hope they didn't go for Gaara. God, I hope he's ok. Oh god, I'd better not be crying. If I am, that'd be pathetic!!"_ she thought to herself as she felt her eyes water. She blinked quickly and wiped herself up so no one would notice. They entered a room. They were 1 day early so for the next day they stayed there. Finally they were told to go into a room that looked like a battle arena. All nine rookie's were there, as well as Gaara's team, a team from Sound, a team with two old people and a young boy with glasses they knew to be named Kabuto, Aang's team, a team from the Earth village consisting of Katara's ex-boyfriend Jet, Sokka's girlfriend Suki, and some earthbender Aang said was Haru, and a team from the Fire Nation that had Zuko's little sister Azula, a gymnastics pro who was good at the use of pressure points named Ty Lee, and a kunai obsessed Goth who was always bored named Mai who seemed to have a crush on Zuko.

"_Thank god that Gaara's ok."_ thought Toph. She then stood in line with her teammates, right next to Gaara, who turned around, saw her next to him and turned quickly back to the front, all while turning red.

"_She's ok. Thank you god,"_ he thought and slightly turned to look at her. _"My god, she's covered in so many scars and bruises. Oh ya, she doesn't have a special shield like me. Well, when I make her mine, I'll make sure she's always protected. Wait, what did I just say? Am I going crazy or something? sigh It's probably nothing."_ he continued to think. The proctor for the third exams stepped forward. He was a weak looking man who coughed a lot and looked tired.

"Since there are so many people, we have decided to immediately hold preliminary rounds to get rid of a majority of people. If any of you are unfit to participate, then you may pull out." he said. There was a silence, and then Kabuto raised his hand and dropped out. After that, they went to the stands with their sensei's., Toph going with Zuko, Rin, and a beautiful woman Gaara guessed to be her sensei, and Gaara going with Temari, Kankuro, and a man with a bandage and a cloth covering his face. The proctor went into the middle.

"Let the games begin!!!" he announced.


	6. A Conversation on the Rooftop

Gaara sat on the roof of the house that he, his two teammates, and his sensei were living in while they were in Konaha during the Chunnin Exams. He was thinking about the preliminaries. How he had wiped out that Taijutsu person with the bowl cut. What was his name again? Oh ya, Rock Lee. And also, the looks of horror and rage on Tophs face when the match was done. There were tears down her face that were so abnormal to her normal attitude, which were hyper and easy-going. The look on her face as she heard Lee scream in pain and when she saw Gaara as he walked back and passed Naruto haunted him. It was torture. He now realized that there was a possibility that he was infatuated with her. As he thought, he heard slight footsteps on the roof. He turned around and his jaw dropped. It was Toph. She wasn't wearing her usual attire she wore to rain in, but instead a light green nightgown that went up to her knees. Her hair was in a messy bun with hair spilt all over her head. They just stared at each other.

"So, I see YOU'RE here." Toph finally said to break the silence. Gaara chuckled slightly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." he merely replied. Toph narrowed her eyes, then slowly came back to normal and grinned cheekily.

"No, not at all," she said then motioned in front of her and continued, "may I sit next to you?"

"Of course." Gaara said with mock courtesy. Tophs grin grew wider and she sat down next to Gaara. After a long and stony silence, Gaara finally drew up enough courage to ask that one question tat had been bugging him since the day they met.

"Why are your eyes so blank and pale looking? They look like they are always staring into nowhere." he asked. Toph frowned slightly and bit her lip. For a while, she didn't answer, then finally, as Gaara was about to change the subject, she answered hesitantly.

"It's because I'm blind." She said. Gaara looked up. He was shocked.

"B-blind? How long?" he managed to stutter. Toph shrugged.

"Since I was born, I guess. I don't recall ever being able to see." she answered. Gaara stared at her in wonder.

"How are you able to fight so well then? I mean, back there, you were amazing" he said, then blushed. Toph didn't notice.

"Well, I can sense vibrations in the ground from different people's footsteps as well as distinguish them from other people. I've also developed a technique that allows me to send chakra into my eardrums which allow me to hear thousands of times more accurate, which also means I will be able to direct better attacks to opponents in the air." she explained in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. Gaara's eyes widened.

"So then, what exactly are your goals as a shinobi?" he asked. Tophs face changed into a face of determination and anger and she clenched her fists tightly." I wish to show my parents, especially my father, as well as the entire world, that just because I am blind, it does not mean that I am weak, or helpless, or fragile, or that I am unable to battle. That is my goal." she declared. Gaara was filled with a strange feeling. He leaned towards Toph and touched her cheek with his hand. She looked at him, surprised. He pulled away quickly.

"That is admirable. I hope you become successful." he replied. Toph nodded. Then her eyes widened.

"I gotta go! If Zuko finds out that I'm here, he's gonna freak out. Ever since that battle with Lee that you had, none of my friends really like you." she said quickly, then got up. As she was about to jump onto the roof top near the one they were on, she looked around gave him a thumbs-up and said,

"Thanks for the awesome conversation" then left. Gaara kept staring in the direction she had gone towards in a slight daze.

"_Maybe I am in love."_ he thought to himself.

Toph entered her room, which she shared with Zuko and his uncle, Iroh. She sighed and went into her futon, which was near the far edge of the room, while Zuko's futon and Iroh-san's futon were on the other side. She stared at the ceiling blankly, thinking about the small conversation she and Gaara had had while on that rooftop three houses down from the small apartment that she, Zuko, and uncle Iroh lived in together.

"_Well then, that was quite interesting. He seemed nothing like the way he was when he was fighting Lee. God, back there he was so ruthless, cruel, and merciless. Almost like a dictator. But during our conversation...he was so different. He seemed so polite. Like he was when I first met him. I wonder what his true personality is like. Also, why did he touch my cheek like that? He couldn't love me. He doesn't seem to be able to. But the way he touched my cheek. It was so tender and loving. Oh god, I need to sleep. Otherwise, I'll never be able to train and fulfill my goal."_ she thought and with that, she drifted off to sleep.


	7. I Love You

For the next few days, Toph constantly visited Gaara on the rooftop in the night. Like the first night, they would just talk normally and gradually, a close friendship blossomed. In the morning, if they saw each other in the town though, they would greet each other as nothing more than mere acquaintances. On the day before the Chunnin Exams, Toph arrived on the rooftop. As usual, Gaara was there.

"Gaara-san, may I sit down." she asked feigning polite etiquette. Gaara smirked.

"Why of course you may, Toph-san." he replied. She bowed, then throwing away her politeness like a piece of unnecessary garbage; she plopped down next to Gaara.

"So, what's new dude?" she asked. Gaara took a deep breath. He had been planning this for a while. He knew that he would betray his village, his siblings, and his own father. He didn't care. Now, all that matter was that Toph was safe.

"Toph-kun, there's something I need to tell you." he said. Toph turned to him. She was puzzled. He seemed so...so...so serious.

"What is it?" she asked innocently. Her heart was thumping.

"_Could it be that he's telling me that he loves me?"_ she wondered. Gaara bit his lip.

"Tomorrow, during the Chunnin Exams, my village and the Sound Village are planning a full-scale invasion of the Leaf Village. It has been planned for many years. I am a weapon in this invasion." he announced. Toph's expression was unreadable. Finally, after an awkward silence she replied.

"What kind of weapon exactly are you? Why is your village doing this? And why the hell are you telling me this?" she choked out, her voice struggling to suppress the rage, betrayal and horror that was longing to come out.

"Well, to answer your first question, as you know from the conversations, I have the Shukaku inside of me that was sealed when I was an unborn fetus inside my mother. I must cause as much destruction as possible. To answer your second question, it is because my village believes that our feudal lord is paying little attention to our village. My father, the goddamned so-called Kazekage, believes that if we attack Konaha, aka the most powerful village in the world, that we will be recognized." he explained coolly. Toph looked at him, her expression unchanged.

"And my third question? Answer that!! Why are you telling me this?" she spat out like poison. Gaara was taken aback and for a while he didn't speak.

"I don't want you to get hurt." he said finally. Toph's face softened a little, but she still was angry.

"And why, dare may I ask, do you care so much about me?" she asked. He groaned inwardly. Now, he had to tell the truth.

"Because I-I love you." he choked out. Toph was taken aback.

"_D-did he just say that? Did he really just say that? My god, don't tell me he actually loves me!! I thought he only loved himself. But...why me?"_ she thought as tears cascaded down her eyes like a waterfall. She looked at him.

"Why do you love me? I'm not that feminine or beautiful." she whispered. Gaara looked shocked.

"Who the hell told you that crap? Of course you are beautiful!!! And you're smart and funny and kind!!! My god, how can I not love you? You are the first person to truly accept me as the THING I am!!!!!! I love you!!! I want you!!!! I need you!!!! You mean everything to me!!!!" he exploded. Toph just looked at him, tears still pouring. Gaara freaked out inwardly.

"_Oh god, what have I done? I made her cry. HOW COULD I??!!!!!!!! Does she despise me?? Does she love someone else?"_ he thought. Finally he looked back at her. She was shaking and SMILING!!!!!

"I-I love you too!!!" she stuttered. She leaned over to him and kissed him on the cheek. Gaara turned bright red. He turned towards her. She was smiling like normal and she was no longer crying. He no longer could control himself. He needed to show that she was HIS and no one else's!!!!! He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest. Toph blushed as she was pulled into his arms. For a while, the just sat there, embracing each other, Gaara with one arm around Tophs waist and another arm pressed on the back of Tophs head feeling her soft hair, and his head resting on hers and Toph with her arms wrapped around his body and her head on his chest, listening to his heart and the Shukaku's heart beat in unison. Gaara guided Toph's head up towards his head and stared into her eyes.

"_God she's beautiful."_ he thought. He leaned slowly closer towards her face, bringing their lips together until there was no space separating them from each other. Toph gasped in surprise, and then pressed herself closer to him. Gaara licked Toph's lower lip. It tasted like strawberries. They stayed that way until they separated, gasping for breath. They looked at each other, smiled, and started laughing, Toph laughing her usual one, and Gaara laughing a richer, happier, and more normal laugh.

Watching this while hidden in the shadows were Temari and Kankuro. They were in shock.

"Is that really Gaara-sama?" Temari said in shock. Kankuro looked confused.

"That is the first time that I have seen him show any affection to anyone!!! This is disturbing." he replied. Temari began to cry and smiled while tears of joy ran down her face.

"He's finally grown up." she wept.

Unaware of Temari and Kankuro, Gaara and Toph finally stopped laughing and were just looking at each other.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going if I want to do well during the Chunnin Exams." Toph finally said. She looked towards Gaara's direction. She put her hand to his face. His mouth was curved into a smile.

"Of course. And, please be careful tomorrow" he replied. She smiled and turned to leave. As she reached the edge of the roof, where she would cross onto the other roof, she turned towards Gaara.

"I just want to say, please be careful tomorrow and don't get hurt." she said then turned forward and hopped onto the roof next door. Gaara smiled happily.

"Of course I will." he said to himself.


	8. I Can't Believe He Said He Loves Me!

Toph woke up the next day as realization hit her.

"OH GOD!!!!! IT'S THE CHUNNIN EXAMS!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!" she screamed, then remembered what Gaara had said.

_Flashback_

"_Tomorrow, during the Chunnin Exams, my village and the Sound Village are planning a full-scale invasion of the Leaf Village. It has been planned for many years. I am a weapon in this invasion." he announced _

_End of Flashback_

"I hope Gaara is ok." she thought. Then all of a sudden the rest of the memories of the night before hit her.

_Flashback_

"_Because I-I love you." he choked out._

"_Why do you love me? I'm not that feminine or beautiful." she whispered. Gaara looked shocked._

"_Who the hell told you that crap? Of course you are beautiful!!! And you're smart and funny and kind!!! My god, how can I not love you? You are the first person to truly accept me as the THING I am!!!!!! I love you!!! I want you!!!! I need you!!!! You mean everything to me!!!!" he exploded_

_End of Flashback_

"I can't believe it. Gaara said he loves me. ME!!!! Of all the girls in Konaha and Suna he loves ME!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!" she yelled, then shut up instantly since the last thing she wanted was for anyone else to know. Luckily, Zuko and Iroh were heavy sleepers. She smiled inwardly and went to wake them up.

A couple hours later, Zuko and Toph were walking towards the arena.

"Why's that bastard from the Sand village waving at you?" Zuko suddenly spurted out. Toph turned around. She felt Gaara's footsteps near her and felt the air vibrate as he waved. She waved back and inconspicuously signaled him to stop since Zuko hated Gaara's guts after the preliminaries. Gaara immediately stopped. Temari and Kankuro, who were with Gaara, looked confused with Gaara's sudden enthusiasm, then remembered the night before, when they had stumbled across Gaara and that earthbender kissing on the roof. Kankuro shuddered.

"Man, I can't believe Gaara was making out with a girl before me. That's just creepy." Kankuro thought. They went on towards the arena. Finally they reached the arena. They walked in.

"TOPH-KUN!!!!!! ZU-ZU-CHAN!!!!!!! LET'S GO!!!!! The exams will start any minute!!!!" squealed Rin. Toph grinned, though inside she was nervous. She was going against Aang, aka the Avatar. Her own freakin earthbending pupil, who was pretty damn good. He was an AIRBENDER and her air vibration-sensing jutsu wasn't that great.

"_Oh god, oh god. What do I do?!! I guess I'll just have to wing it or something like that. Oh well. It can't be too bad. I'll still kick his ass. Then again…he was the first person to beat me in Earth Rumble 4!!! Only cuz he cheated, though. UUUUGH what do I do??"_ she was screaming in her head. She felt Gaara's hand grab hers and squeeze it reassuringly before letting go. She wanted him to hold her more, but remembered that they had decided their relationship would be secret, until the time was right. Which she had absolutely no idea when, but she hoped it would be soon. She turned around. She couldn't see what the stadium looked like. She turned to Zuko.

"Hey Zuko-kun. What's the stadium look like and who's here?" she asked Zuko. He looked around and turned back to Toph.

"Well, it's an open stadium, like the Coliseum in Rome. The stands and in the outer ring of the stadium and the battle arena is in the middle. It is mostly dirt, but there are some trees. Near the arena, butt close to the stands, there is an area similar to the area we had to wait in the preliminaries, but it is smaller and our senseis aren't there. In the back of the arena, there is a big seating are reserved for the Hokage and the Kazekage. Near there are the daimyo and their bodyguards. Lower there is the general public," Zuko explained, then paused. Toph motioned for him to keep going on. "There are 7 ANBU Black Ops…" here Toph interrupted him.

"ANBU? Why the hell are the ANBU Black Ops here?" she asked, though inside, she knew. They were either for Rin and Sasuke, who turns out suffered the same thing Rin did, or Konaha suspected what Suna was planning to do. Toph felt uneasy.

"Go on. So, is everyone here?" she inquired.

"NO, not everyone. Naruto's late and that Dosu's missing. I hear he dropped out. Oh ya. Sasuke still hasn't turned up after he pulled that vanishing act in the hospital. Rin's still freaking out." Zuko replied. Toph felt uneasy. She knew that Dosu hadn't dropped out. He was killed by Gaara.

"Dosu didn't drop out. He was killed." she whispered, praying that Gaara didn't hear her. He had long since gone to an outer part of the line. Zuko looked interested.

"By who? And how did you find out?" he asked.

"That's confidential. And if you want to know how I know, let's just say I had a front row seat watching... Oh, there's something I need to warn you. Don't ask me how I know, I just do." Toph whispered and started to warn Zuko about everything Gaara told her. Zuko looked alarmed.

"W-what the… Ishizu was right. She predicted it a while back." he whispered back. Toph nodded.

"Well now I've just confirmed it. We need to warn Rin and Aang." She said. Zuko nodded and proceeded to pass the information to Aang and Rin, who nodded and whispered thanks. Suddenly there was a commotion near the entrance.

"RUN EVERYONE, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE'S A HERD OF BULLS HEADING THIS WAY!!!!!!" screamed Naruto. Toph chuckled.

"Naruto sure knows how to make an entrance, even if its obnoxious." she muttered to Zuko who smirked in reply. After a little while, Naruto planted himself next to Toph and Shikamaru. The proctor, who was different than the last one, came over and showed a changed chart. The only thing that had changed was that Shikamaru would be going against Temari instead of Dosu. Finally the proctor announced that it was time for the exams to begin.

"Would everyone except for Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga please report to the waiting area to wait for your turn?" asked the proctor. Toph turned to leave the arena but turned to Naruto.

"Go whup that bastard's ass Naruto. For Hinata-chan." she said. Naruto nodded.

"I will. Believe it." he replied. Toph smiled at him the, following Zuko's footstep vibrations, she went up to the waiting area. The 3rd stage of the Chunnin Exams were about to begin.


	9. Time for the Operation

Toph walked back up there stairs. She was exhausted. She had just finished her battle with Aang, which she won with difficulty. Aang had become very good in earthbending, but she was better. She also learned some non-earth techniques, like a disappearing technique called Invisibility Jutsu. When she reached the top floor, she immediately felt Rin jump and hug her.

"TOPH-KUN, TOPH-KUN!!!!! YOU WON!!!! YAY!!!!!" cheered Rin. Toph grinned wearily and turned to look at Zuko.

"Great job. You did excellent. I gotta say that Invisibility Jutsu you did was flawless." he said like he always did, calmly. Toph smiled wider. Zuko certainly hadn't been so calm when he won his battle against his own sister, Azula.

"TOPH-KUN YOU ROCKED OUT LOUD!!!!" Naruto screamed. Toph nodded at him and went to go watch the match. She felt Gaara stare at her. She had heard his voice in the crowd, cheering her. That had motivated her. She stood at the sidelines waiting for the next match to begin. All that was left was Gaara's battle against Sasuke, who still wasn't there. She felt Gaara's hand wrap around hers and squeeze it.

"Great job. That was amazing. You certainly are an amazing shinobi. I hope your father realizes this." he whispered. Toph smiled at him.

"Thank you for cheering me. I bet that your siblings thought you were crazy." she whispered back. Gaara shrugged his shoulders dismissingly.

"I honestly don't give a damn about their opinion. Besides, there were tons of other people yelling. NO one else heard me except you. If they did, they would have looked in my direction, which no one did." replied Gaara. He looked around to see if no one was watching and when he thought no one was looking their way, he leaned over and gave Toph a light kiss on the cheek, causing Toph to promptly blush. Unknown to them, Zuko, Kankuro, and Temari saw this little exchange of affection.

"_What the hell? Don't tell me Toph's fallen for that bastard from the Sand Village. Or maybe that bastards not only a merciless killer with a selfish attitude, but also a womanizer."_ thought Zuko in shock.

"_Ah! I guess Gaara really does like that girl. It's about time he showed some affection towards someone other than himself. God, he's growing up so fast."_ thought Temari with a slight tear in her eye.

"_Lucky guy!! I still can't believe he's got a chick before I do!! That little…"_ Kankuro ranted. Suddenly everyone looked up. There was a slight wind and standing in the stadium was none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself.

"Ugh, just great. Pretty boy what's-his-name's here. Damn it. I was hoping that he wouldn't come so you'd win by forfeit." Toph muttered. Gaara smirked.

"You really want me to win that bad? Well then, I'll be sure to do EXTRA well just for you, sweetie." he replied. Toph raised her eyebrows and blushed even more. Gaara grinned mischievously at seeing her reaction, and then looked down.

"Ah. I guess it's time for me to go. Wish me luck." he replied then clutched his head. It hurt so badly. He could feel _**it**_ thrash about. _**It**_ was itching to get out, to be free. He hoped Toph didn't notice, but she did.

"Gaara, are you ok?" she asked worriedly. Gaara groaned in pain.

"The Shukaku… it's thrashing. Don't worry, I'll be fine." he replied. He then went down to enter. As he walked down he was thinking about Tophs worried expression.

"_I have to win this for her. I have to… DAMN IT!!!!! Stupid Shukaku! God, I wish it would stop it. IT hurts so bad."_ he thought as he stumbled down. As he walked down, he bumped into two strange ninja.

"You must be Gaara of the Sand." one of them said. Gaara stared at them coldly.

"So what if I am? What does it mean to you lowlifes." he answered. The two of them grinned.

" Unfortunately for you, it means you have to die. You see you squirt, the Chunnin Exams isn't just about you. It's also a betting sport. All the different daimyo's and ninja bet on the outcomes. Our daimyo has bet on Sasuke. In order for our daimyo not to be humiliated, you must die_**. Capishe**_?" one of them explained. Gaara kept silent.

"Hmph. You think you're so high and mighty you don't answer us? Well, you're damn wrong." The shinobi snickered. Gaara looked at them and with a thirst for blood splayed across his eyes and with one swift motion of his hand, the two shinobi were crushed by the sand. He then marched down, ready to commence with the battle.

"_You better watch out Sasuke Uchiha. I'm ready to kill."_ he thought to himself as he entered the stadium. Sasuke was standing there, looking cool as a cucumber. Gaara approached the middle.

"You ready for me to kick your ass, Gaara? Sasuke asked. Gaara grinned evilly.

"Watch out pretty-boy, cuz I'm about to wipe that smart-aleck grin off your face." he replied. The proctor signaled for them to start and the battle began.

Toph watched with a smirk as Sasuke tried in vain to attack Gaara.

"_Try and try all you want, pretty-boy. There's no damn way you'll ever get to my Gaara. His shield, it's perfect. He's refined it so that nothing can get through. So try all you want. It won't do you any good."_ she thought with a smirk. On and on Sasuke tried to attack. Finally he stopped. He pulled off his leg weights and began to attack and attack faster than before. Faster than Gaara's shield. Toph gasped as Gaara was suddenly hit over and over again.

"YA!!! Sasuke, wipe him dead!!!" she heard Naruto say. Her heart panged.

"_God, please let him be okay."_ she thought. Gaara enclosed himself in a ball of sand.

"Mama, don't be mad at me. I'm sorry. They were threatening. I know I've kept my mind off you. I'll be a good boy. Look, I've got some tastier blood for you to feast on, ok?" he whispered insanely. Toph drew her breath in. Sasuke was charging towards the ball of sand with lightning in his hand.

"_Oh no!!! The Chidori!!!!"_ she thought. Sasuke charged and hit the shield with the Chidori. It instantly broke through the sand barrier. Gaara suddenly felt something sharp hit his skin and suddenly felt something warm and wet trickle down his arm.

"Something warm and wet. What is it? Could it be…" he murmured. Toph stood waiting. There was a loud scream from the Ball.

"BLOOD!!!!!! IT'S MY BLOOD!!!! AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!" he screamed in a high voice. Toph could feel tears come to her eyes. What had that bastard done? She couldn't take it anymore.

"GAARA-KUN!!!!! HANG ON!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!" she screamed. Zuko looked at her in shock. There were tears running down her eyes and she was shaking.

"_Don't tell me she l-loves that heartless bastard!! She better not!!!"_ he thought. Temari and Kankuro glanced in her direction.

"_I guess she loves him after all!!"_ they both thought to themselves. Suddenly there was a bang and smoke erupted from the area where the Hokage and Kazekage where sitting. Temari, Kankuro and their sensei looked up.

"The operation has begun." they thought then leapt out into the stadium to get Gaara. Toph looked at Zuko and Rin and nodded. They both leapt out and went into the seating area where their senseis were to join in the fight.

"_I guess the exams are postponed."_ Toph thought.


	10. Is Toph Nuts?

_I finally got a review!!! The again, it's from my friend...but still. I GOT A REVIEW!!!! Now then, this is where it gets REALLY juicy. Also, this is where you see some of Rin's TRUE power. If you want more details, I'm also working on another manga-mashup...but first I need to work on this baby!!!!!_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toph, Zuko, and Rin went to the public stands, where Ishizu, Odion, and Marik were. They were with Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, and a couple other Jounin.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Naruto, yelling above the noise. Toph looked towards his voices direction.

"It's an invasion. The Sand Village and the Sound village have banded together and are planning to destroy the Leaf village!" Toph replied, then turned her attention to some Sound shinobi that were going to attack. She bended the ground and slammed them into each other with a huge boulder. She turned towards Ishizu.

"Toph-kun, how do you know this?" asked Ishizu with urgency.

"That Gaara dude told me!!!" she replied then clamped her mouth shut with her hand.

"_Oh god, what the effing hell did I just do? I'm so stupid!!"_ she thought. Ishizu looked confused.

"GAARA? You mean that jerk from the Sand village? With that monster inside of him? Why did he tell you?! He hasn't even seen you for a month!! Wait…has he?" Ishizu asked, with worry in her voice. Toph bit her lip. How was she going to explain how Gaara managed to tell her?

"I-I've been meeting with him on the rooftop for the past month. When I can't sleep." She mumbled faintly enough so only Ishizu could hear. Rin and Zuko had gone off to fight, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura had gone after Sasuke, Marik had gone off with his friend Makubex, Odion was with the other Jounin; Ishizu's friends (Seto Kaiba, Ban Mido, etc.) had gone off to join the Jounin as well, and Ishizu was multi-tasking, both fighting sound ninja and listening to Toph. Ishizu looked horrified.

"Toph-kun, why were you fraternizing with an enemy? You know he's dangerous, you saw him beat up poor Lee!! Why?!" Ishizu cried. Toph looked pained.

"B-Because…Because I love him and he loves me!!!' she burst out. Ishizu looked at her.

"Toph-kun…how do you know he loves you?" she asked gently, in a maternal way. Toph began to weep quietly.

"H-he told me…last night…he held me…kissed me…that's why h-he warned me!!!!" she stuttered. Ishizu smiled sadly.

"_Toph-kun…"_ she thought, and then looked behind her. There were three sound ninja behind them. She quickly went to the offensive and began knocking them out of the way. She turned back to see Toph had disappeared.

"_Oh shit!!!! What the hell is that girl thinking? Does she want to DIE all for some one guy? I'd better get Rin and Zuko to go after her."_ She thought and quickly made a couple hand-sign of a special technique.

"Rin!!! Behind you!!" yelled Zuko. Rin turned around to see seven Sound Ninja behind her.

"SHARINGAN!!!" she screamed and activated one of her kekkei-genkai. She made a couple of complicated hand-signs.

"_Fire technique: Fireball Jutsu, Blue Eyes White Dragon Style_!!" she thought and at once, blue lightning emerged out of her mouth. The Sound Ninja were instantly toasted.

"_Zuko!!! Rin!!! Can you hear me?" _the voice of Ishizu had entered their thoughts like a walkie-talkie. Rin and Zuko looked at each other. Telepath Jutsu, the technique they had created for long distance communication.

"_Yes, sensei??"_ they both answered in their heads.

"_Toph's gone after Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. She's worried about Gaara!!!"_ Ishizu answered. Zuko and Rin gasped.

"_That idiot!! She's gonna get herself killed!!!"_ Zuko thought.

"_Okaasan, should we go after Toph-chan?"_ asked Rin.

"_Precisely!! That is your next mission. Remember, you better not take this one easy. It's the newest A-ranked mission since the Land of the Waves. Your job is to go after Toph. Once you find her, either assist Naruto and Sasuke or just get the hell out of there. Be careful!!!"_ Ishizu explained and then deactivated the jutsu. Rin and Zuko looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's go!!" they both said and leapt off towards the forest near the edge of the village, where they knew the Sand Siblings had gone off.

"_I hope Toph hasn't done anything too stupid."_ Zuko thought. He turned to Rin.

"You'd better activate your Byakugan to find Toph!!" he said. Rin nodded obediently and began forming more hand-signals.

"_Byakugan!!!"_ she thought and began looking around. She looked one mile ahead, then two miles, then three, then four. Finally, on the fifth or sixth mile ahead, she spotted Toph bounding towards the spot where Gaara was.

"Zu-Zu-chan!!!! I found Toph-chan!!!! She's five miles ahead due north, going at a rate of 90 kilometers per hour." she yelled back. Zuko nodded, then went towards north.

"_I hope we get there in time before its too late go back."_ he thought worriedly.

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I hope you liked this. Chapter 11 is on the way!!_


	11. How can You Love that Boy?

_Here is chapter 11. Sorry thisis going on and on...it's a LONG story!! Well, enjoy!!!!_

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toph tore throughout the forest like a maniac, fervently looking for Gaara. She had bumped into three Sound ninja squads and left them all in a near death state.

"_Where the hell is Gaara? I know I felt his footsteps near this location. If I could just pinpoint the exact location I could…uh oh!!! Who's coming? Wait that's…Rin and Zuko?"_ she thought and turned around and jumped to the ground, feeling the vibrations. She grinned. It was them. She waited. Rin and Zuko looked down to see Toph. She had stopped.

"_Why'd she stop?"_ Zuko thought to himself. The stopped and landed on the ground. Toph walked to them calmly, grinning widely.

"Well, well, well. Look who came to join the party." she exclaimed. Zuko didn't smile, but kept serious.

"Toph-kun, let's go. Ishizu-sensei told us that we needed to retrieve you and then we'd get the hell out of here or help Naruto." he said, almost ordered. Toph's expression changed. She scowled then turned away from them.

"You go ahead and go back. I'm not coming with you. Not until I find out about Gaara." she said softly, but dangerously. Zuko groaned.

"Toph-kun, come on. Be sensible. We need to go back to Ishizu-sensei and help them fight Sand and Sound. Why do you need to go see this Gaara bastard? He hasn't done anything helpful. He's a monster who has hurt many people. He murders for fun. What's so special about him?" he said coaxingly.

"He is one of the people who truly understand me. We're similar. So similar it's scary." she replied softly. Zuko's face fell. Similar? How could that be?

"You two are nothing alike!!!! He is cruel and vicious!! You are kind and merciful!!!" he exploded.

"Au contraire, Zuko-kun. There is something similar about us. We are both misunderstood in so many ways possible by everyone, especially our parents and our only goal in life is to show them they are wrong. That is how we are alike." she replied coldly, and then took off immediately. Zuko smacked himself on the head.

"_That girl is so stubborn. She is just like Azula, only different in so many other ways."_ he thought then sighed and turned to Rin, who was standing patiently beside him.

"Come on Rin. We'd better follow her." he said. Rin looked confused.

"I thought Toph-chan told us to go back, Zu-Zu-chan." Rin said innocently. Zuko nodded sadly.

"Yeah, but we should stick together. We'll help her do whatever she needs to do. We're like family, remember?" he replied. Rin nodded.

"Yeah!! I remember!! Mama said that, didn't she?" she replied. Zuko nodded sadly and went off. Rin followed him. As they tore through the forest, Zuko thought about what Toph had said.

_Flashback_

"_Toph-kun, let's go. Ishizu-sensei told us that we needed to retrieve you and then we'd get the hell out of here or help Naruto." he said, almost ordered. Toph's expression changed. She scowled then turned away from them._

"_You go ahead and go back. I'm not coming with you. Not until I find out about Gaara." she said softly, but dangerously. Zuko groaned._

"_Toph-kun, come on. Be sensible. We need to go back to Ishizu-sensei and help them fight Sand and Sound. Why do you need to go see this Gaara bastard? He hasn't done anything helpful. He's a monster who has hurt many people. He murders for fun. What's so special about him?" he said coaxingly._

"_He is one of the people who truly understand me. We're similar. So similar it's scary." she replied softly. Zuko's face fell. Similar? How could that be?_

"_You two are nothing alike!!!! He is cruel and vicious!! You are kind and merciful!!!" he exploded._

"_Au contraire, Zuko-kun. There is something similar about us. We are both misunderstood in so many ways possible by everyone, especially our parents and our only goal in life is to show them they are wrong. That is how we are alike." she replied coldly, and then took off immediately._

_End of Flashback_

"_How can she say that she is misunderstood? So many people understand her. Me, Ishizu-sensei, Rin, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, maybe not Sasuke, Marik-san, Odion-sensei. There are so many people who understand her. She's just basing everything on her parents. That bastard must have manipulated her somehow."_ he thought to himself. Rin looked towards Zuko.

"Zu-Zu-chan. Remember Toph-chan said that Gaara loved her?" she asked. Zuko looked at her confused, then slowly nodded.

"Yeah Rin-chan? What about it?" he replied.

"What if she actually meant it? She accepts lots of people for who they are, like Naruto for the Kyuubi in him, you for being the Firelord's son and heir, and me for being the reincarnation of Kisara-san. Mama called that one of her best qualities." she asked, remembering one of Ishizu's statements.

_Flashback_

_Ishizu and Rin were standing on the rooftop. Rin turned to Ishizu._

"_Mama, were Toph-chan and Zu-Zu-chan mad when you told them about Kisara-san?" she asked innocently. Ishizu turned towards her daughter and smiled maternally._

"_No, they weren't. They were fine with it. They accepted it quite well." she replied. Rin's face lit up with happiness._

"_REALLY? They were ok with it?" she asked joyously. Ishizu merely smiled wider._

"_Yes, my love, they accepted you," said Ishizu then looked up into the sky and continued, " It truly is a special gift they posses." Rin looked up at Ishizu._

"_What do you mean Mama? What is a special gift they posses?" she asked curiously._

"_They posses the ability to accept the many obscure flaws and traits of a person. They can love someone despite the bad in them. This is an important trait in a person, Rin, because if everyone had this trait, there would be less suffering in the world. There would be no war, no murder, no robberies, no rape, and no hatred. Imagine a world like that, my love. What do you see?" she replied. Rin closed her eyes tightly and thought for a minute, then opened her eyes._

"_It's paradise Mama!!!!" she answered. Ishizu grinned and looked towards her daughter, with love in her eyes._

"_It most certainly is my love! It most certainly is." she said calmly._

_End of Flashback_

"Mama said that the ability to accept others is a gift that Toph-chan and you have, Zu-Zu-chan. She said that if everyone had that, there'd be peace on Earth." She remembered. Zuko frowned.

"What does that mean?" he asked. Rin looked at Zuko.

"I think it means that maybe we should accept Gaara, like Toph-chan did. Since Toph-chan has a good sense of these things, we can trust her." she answered. Zuko frowned slightly.

"_Trust in Toph-kun? I'm not sure about this. But Rin does have a point. I guess we should."_ he thought. He sighed heavily, then grinned towards Rin.

"Sure, why not? After all, she has believed in us. We should believe in her." He replied. Rin smiled widely.

"YAY!!!: she yelled. Zuko just grinned and they took of to continue looking for Toph with a different purpose in mind then originally.


	12. Authors Note!

I am deeply, deeply, DEEPLY disappointed at the lack of friggin reviews my "masterpiece" is receiving. Currently I have received ONE review, which I forced out of my friend. I know we can do better so….until I get AT LEAST (aka a minimum) of 20 NEW reviews (not counting the first one) by the 27th of October; I am NOT updating Gaara's One True Wish. If I do not get at least 20 new reviews by the listed date above, I am forever removing Gaara's One True Wish from Capische????? Good, now let's get CRACKING on those reviews!!!!

-gaaramania101 aka Michele


	13. Finding Gaara

Here's chapter twelve. I've mostly been working on my second fanfic From Egypt to Domino which has been a HUGE hit!!!! Anyway, enjoy!!!!

Toph ran through the forest, thinking about what she had just said to her teammates.

_Flashback_

"_Toph-kun, let's go. Ishizu-sensei told us that we needed to retrieve you and then we'd get the hell out of here or help Naruto." he said, almost ordered. Toph's expression changed. She scowled then turned away from them._

"_You go ahead and go back. I'm not coming with you. Not until I find out about Gaara." she said softly, but dangerously. Zuko groaned._

"_Toph-kun, come on. Be sensible. We need to go back to Ishizu-sensei and help them fight Sand and Sound. Why do you need to go see this Gaara bastard? He hasn't done anything helpful. He's a monster who has hurt many people. He murders for fun. What's so special about him?" he said coaxingly._

"_He is one of the people who truly understand me. We're similar. So similar it's scary." she replied softly. Zuko's face fell. Similar? How could that be?_

"_You two are nothing alike!!!! He is cruel and vicious!! You are kind and merciful!!!" he exploded._

"_Au contraire, Zuko-kun. There is something similar about us. We are both misunderstood in so many ways possible by everyone, especially our parents and our only goal in life is to show them they are wrong. That is how we are alike." she replied coldly, and then took off immediately._

_End of Flashback_

"_I shouldn't have said that to them. But they were holding me back, saying that Gaara was a monster. He isn't a monster!!!!"_ she thought, but turned back, _" I still think it was probably a bad thing. I should probably apologize when I go back."_ she thought to herself. Suddenly Toph stopped. She swore she could feel Rin and Zuko's footsteps. She turned around. Zuko and Rin were there.

"Zuko? Rin? What are you doing here?" she asked. Zuko took a deep breath.

"We thought about what you said. We think that since you have good judgment, we will help with your mission. After all, we're like family right? And family sticks together, don't we?" he explained. Toph's eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you so much!!!" she whispered. Then became serious. Rin noticed this and became worried.

"What's the matter, Toph-chan? Are you Ok?" she asked. Toph looked up, slightly shaken.

"Oh, its nothing. We need to hurry though if we want to get there in time." she replied. Rin and Zuko nodded and a couple minutes later, they were in the air, looking for them.

"Hey Toph-kun!!! Shouldn't we tell Ishizu-sensei what we are doing?" asked Zuko. Toph looked at him.

"YA!!!! You're right!!! I'll go contact her." she said, then made the hand-signs to activate the Telepath Jutsu.

Ishizu was surrounded by ninja. They all came charging towards her. She leapt up, aiming kicks to two of them. She landed in a hand-stand and spun herself around like a top, kicking the ninja away. She went back on her feet and surveyed the area, panting. That was the 48th-59th shinobi that she had defeated. She could hear Kakashi and Gai fighting it out.

"COME ON KAKASHI!!!!! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO??? I'VE ALREADY DONE 43!!!!" Gai bellowed. She rolled her eyes. Again Gai was challenging Kakashi. Such a bore.

"_Ishizu-sensei!!!! It's me, Toph!!!!"_ the voice of Toph said in Ishizu's head. Ishizu gasped.

"_Toph-kun? What's the matter? Have Zuko and Rin reached you okay?"_ Ishizu questioned urgently. She heard Toph chuckle in her head.

"_Don't worry sensei; they've come safe and sound. One slight problem, though."_ Toph said, then hesitated.

"_What???!!! What is it?? What's wrong??"_ Ishizu cried in her head.

"_Uh…we kinda had a fight about Gaara and I convinced them. They've decide to help me."_ Toph reluctantly explained. Ishizu was silent.

"_I'd like to speak to Zuko. Tell him to activate the Telepath Jutsu for him"_ she finally said. After a little while, Ishizu could hear Zuko's voice.

"_Yes sensei?"_ he said nervously.

"_What the hell made you change your mind?"_ she thought coldly.

"_I didn't mean to!!!!! Rin made a point that Toph is trustworthy and we should trust her. I mean she's done so much for us. We should do something for her."_ He protested. Ishizu thought for a moment.

"_You are right…ok then!!!! Change the mission plan. But this is the only time I will, so don't start thinking you can do this!!!!"_ she consented then cut off the Telepath Jutsu before Zuko could thank her. She went back to continue fighting. As she passed Gai-sensei, she turned to him.

"By the way, I just finished my 59th person, so don't start bragging yet bud!!!!!" she yelled. Gai-sensei looked horrified. Ishizu grinned and went back to work.

Toph, Zuko, and Rin ran like the wind, searching vigorously for Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Gaara. So far they couldn't see anything. Suddenly, Rin gasped and point forward, her Byakugan activated.

"Zu-Zu-chan!!! Toph-chan!!! I see them!!! 3 kilometers due east!!" she yelled. Toph and Zuko nodded and they all changed their direction towards east. Finally, they reached. Zuko bit his lip and swore in his head. It was a mess. Destruction was everywhere. Sakura was unconscious, lying on the ground, Sasuke had collapsed and Naruto was lying on the ground on his belly, trying to inch towards Gaara, who was semi-unconscious. Zuko looked at Toph.

"THE SCENE DOESN'T LOOK TOO GOOD!!!! ALMOST EVERYONE IS UNCONSCIOUS AND SHIKAMARU IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN!!!!" he yelled. Toph looked at him.

"IS GAARA OK?" Zuko braced himself to report the bad news.

"NO HE ISN'T!!!!!" Toph bit her lip and immediately slowed down. She landed on the ground and ran.

Gaara was in pain. He lay on his back, half-conscious.

"_That Uzumaki kid is good…god it hurts so bad."_ He stared up. Suddenly he heard an all too familiar voice.

"YOU IDIOT!!! I thought I told you to be careful!!!" Gaara looked to his side. His eyes widened. Toph was standing there, looking majorly pissed.

"T-Toph-chan…you're here? But why?" he murmured weakly. Toph sighed.

"I was worried. God, you're a mess. Look at you. Your chakra's almost out and your heart beats is irregular." She kneeled beside him. Gaara stared up at her.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Really." He tried to wave her away, but she brushed him away.

"Bull. I know you're lying. I can feel it. Now stay still. You'll be fine." She tried to fight back the tears that were filling her eyes, but failed. Gaara smiled and slowly managed to lift his arm up. He touched her cheek softly and wiped the tears as they slid down.

"Don't cry, please. I'll be fine." he whispered softly. Toph smiled and bent down and pressed her lips to his. Gaara pressed and deepened the kiss. Zuko and Rin watched as they lifted Sakura up. Sasuke managed to get up and lifted Naruto. He then stared at Toph and Gaara.

"What are they doing?" he asked. Zuko turned to him.

"What anyone in love would do." he replied then looked back. Temari and Kankuro were running towards them. They stopped at the sight of the group. Temari saw Toph and Gaara together and smiled. Kankuro looked at them and made a puking noise.

"Again? This is the second time I've seen them like this!" Temari smacked him.

"Shut up! They're in love, stupid" Kankuro rubbed his head in pain. Toph and Gaara finally separated. Toph smiled and gently lifted him up. Kankuro and Temari ran forward to carry him. When Gaara had been transferred, he looked at Toph.

"We'll meet again. I promise you." Temari and Kankuro leapt into the air and were soon gone. Toph looked upward and smiled happily. She turned to the group behind her.

"Well, let's get going. Everyone's probably worried about us." she said. Zuko smiled.

"Yeah, let's go."

I know I said in that Author's note that I'd remove it if I didn't get anymore reviews, but then I realized that I don't do it because of the reviews. I do it because it I don't, I get depressed and mad at the world and my editor gets mad. So I'm going to keep doing it because I want to, though reviews would be nice. Enjoy!!!


	14. Moving to Domino and in with Gaara

Sorry I haven't updated a lot!!!! School's been really busy!!!! This is where my imagination takes off!!!! I hope you enjoy!!!!!

Toph sighed, totally bored. It had been at least a month since Sound had invaded Konaha village. There was still so much repair left to be done. Naruto had gone of with some dude name Jiraiya and had come back bringing the Fifth Hokage, a busty lady named Tsunade who looked around twenty. According to Naruto, she was actually fifty. Toph had met her just once and she seemed nice. After she'd taken a look at Toph, she'd remarked that Toph was an excellent ninja. Toph lay down on the couch in the living room. She still hadn't heard from Gaara.

"_I wonder how he's doing"_ she thought. She heard her door open. She sat up. It was Zuko. She'd been staying with Zuko and his uncle for a while. She felt Zuko's footsteps go towards her. He sat next to her on the bed.

"Toph, there's some big news I gotta tell you." Toph turned to him.

"What?" she said.

"Lady Tsunade's decided that since Konaha has lots of repair to finish and it's not in a very safe condition to live in, all residents of Konaha are moving to Domino. You know, where Ishizu-sensei lives. So, we're moving there. Tomorrow, we pack up and leave." He looked to her, expecting some sort of response, but got none.

"What're you expecting me to say? You want me to jump up in joy or something? We're just moving somewhere, probably temporarily." she finally replied. Zuko smiled.

"There's more to it. Some residents of the Sand, Sound, Rain, and Mist village are moving there also. One of the people moving is the future Kazekage of Sand and his siblings." Toph looked up in interest.

"What's the future Kazekage's name?" Toph asked. Zuko smiled.

"Gaara of the Sand, I believe." Toph's eyes widened.

"D-did you say GAARA'S moving to Domino also?" she asked.

"Ya. That's not all. All the kids will be enrolled in the same three schools. All kids ages 5-11 will be in Domino Elementary, All kids age 12-14 will be in Domino Private Jr. High, and all kids ages 15-17 will be in Domino Private High School. So, you'll be in the same school as Gaara." He turned to Toph. She was smiling widely. Zuko smirked.

"_Well then, Toph seems happy."_ he thought. Toph turned to Zuko.

"Has Gaara already moved there?" Zuko nodded.

"What's his address?"

"Apartment #23, Sotaku Apartments, 49 Roku Street, Domino Japan. He's got an email address too. It's _shukakumanyuubin.jp_." he replied. Toph nodded thanks and immediately ran to her room. She closed the door shut and went to the desk in the corner of her room. There was a writing pad and a pen lying on her desktop and a computer. Next to the pad of paper was a book of writing practice, since Toph was learning to write since she was blind. She sat at her desk, turned on the computer and turned on the Internet. She signed into her email account (_blindbanditroxyuubin.jp_) and went to **New Email**.

"What should I write?" she mumbled to herself. After a while, she finally finished an email that said:

_Gaara-kun,_

_I haven't heard from you in such a long time. I hope you are well and that you are enjoying Domino. I'll be moving there tomorrow so I hope I'll see you soon. Ok, all this formality crap is really annoying, so I'll cut to the chase. I'M REALLY BORED AND I REALLY MISS YOU!!!!!!! Ever since the invasion, Konaha's been a mess. Naruto recently left with this perverted sage-dude who's apparently one of the Sannin and brought back another Sannin who's the 5__th__ Hokage. Her name is Tsunade. According to Naruto she's fifty, but she looks like she's twenty. I've met her once. According to her, I'm "an excellent example of a talented shinobi", so I'm really happy. I've managed to perfect my vibration sensory jutsu's so now I can type. As for reading, I send chakra through my hands and the chakra sends images of the writing into my brain through my hand. I can also do the same thing for photographs. It's so cool. Also, I have a special program on my computer that reads my emails out loud using a robotic voice. Anyway, I'm staying at Zuko's place. It's ok, but the walls are thin and Zuko's uncle sleeps in the room next door and he SNORES!!!!! It's a nightmare._

_I hope you haven't met some other Suna girl and fallen for her. As for me, I've stayed totally loyal to you. Yesterday, Kiba asked me out. I refused, of course, and told him I'm already interested in someone (which refers to you). Needless to say, he's not that happy. Unfortunately for me, he's not the only guy that's taken a slight interest in me. Shino has also confessed his feelings for me, Choji's being unusually nice to me, and I keep getting letters from some random dude. It is SO annoying!!!!! Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Rin are doing great. Zuko and Rin are the only ones (other than Ishizu-sensei) who know I'm having a relationship with you. Sasuke just thinks I have a crush. Speaking of Sasuke, he's been acting really strange around Rin. He's SUPER protective. I have a weird feeling he's…interested in Rin and not just in a brother sister way. It's really creepy, but Rin doesn't seem to notice. Anyway, I hope to see you soon. Tell Temari and Kankuro I said hi. Love you lots_

_Your girlfriend (I think)_

_Toph_

_P.S. A while ago, Ishizu-sensei, Naruto, the perverted sage dude (I think his name is Jiraiya), Kakashi, Rin, Kurenai, Asuma, Sasuke, and Gai had a little run-in with Sasuke's older brother Itachi. According to Ishizu-sensei, Itachi is REALLY powerful. Apparently, he wiped out the ENTIRE Uchiha clan when he was thirteen, except Sasuke, which is probably why Sasuke's power obsessed and a depressed emo. Another thing Ishizu-sensei said was that Itachi is REALLY handsome, thought her original quote was that he is "smoking hot!!!" What ever. If he looks like Sasuke, then he's ugly beyond belief to me, but that's my opinion._

_P.P.S. Congrats on being named the soon-to-be future Kazekage!!! I hope it hasn't changed you at all._

Toph pressed SEND and went back to her Inbox. There were no new messages. She went to her futon and lay down, staring blankly at the ceiling, waiting for him to get the mail and reply.

Gaara was in his room, looking around. He had just finished unpacking all of his stuff. His room was REALLY small. Kankuro and Temari were in the room next door, unpacking their stuff, since they were sharing a room. Gaara turned to his laptop, which was on. He'd just sent an email to Naruto, asking how he was and how Lee was recovering. His inbox said he had a new email.

"_I guess Naruto saw my email."_ He went to the laptop and went to his inbox. The email was from _blindbanditroxyuubin.jp_.

"Who the hell is _blindbanditroxyuubin.jp_ and how do they know my email?" he murmured aloud. He opened the letter and his mouth flew open. It was from Toph. As he read the email, his eyes watered in happiness that she remembered him, missed him, and was still loyal to him. When he finished, he hit REPLY and wrote out a reply. It said:

_Toph-kun,_

_Your email just brightened up the drab that is my life in Domino. Now I can only fervently wait for your next email, and for your arrival in Domino. All in all, Domino is a nice city and my life is safe and cushioned. There's just one vital thing that's missing and it will be arriving tomorrow. That vital thing is you. I really miss you. Forgive me for being (as you always used to say in our conversations) "soppy romantic goop" but, what can I say? I'm madly in love with you. This comes to my reply to your first statement in the second paragraph in your letter. Don't worry, I'm still totally loyal to you, simply because there is no girl in this world that is as smart, as charming, as kind, as independent, as strong, as talented, and (of course) as beautiful as you. I'm really happy to know that you are loyal to me. As for your statement that there are lots of boys interested in you, I can only say this much. There is no way I could ever be the only one to love you, but hopefully I am the only man for you._

_Temari and Kankuro are doing well. They just recently enclosed that they do know about our relationship. Kankuro is jealous that I have "gotten a chick" before him. Temari is the opposite. She is really happy that I'm finally growing up. She started crying while saying this. As you'd say, she was acting all sappy and mushy. The apartment we stay in is small. There are three rooms; a living room/kitchen and two small bedrooms. Kankuro and Temari decided to share a room and I get one of my own. There's also a small bathroom in between my room and my siblings' room. The only reason why I got my own room is because I'm the future Kazekage and I need SPACE!!!!! That and it's hard to study if Kankuro snores and Temari mumbles in her sleep (which they do). My sensei, Baki, doesn't live with us since he's needed at the village. The only reason why my siblings and I are in Domino is cuz they don't want another incident that happened to my dad. Oh, that's right you don't know. A couple days after the invasion, they found my dad/the Fourth Kazekage's body in a ditch near the Sand Village along with the bodies of his bodyguards. Turns out, the Kazekage that was at the final stage of the exams was Orochimaru or Kabuto. I don't really miss Dad since he's been trying to kill ever since I was six, but I do feel sad for some odd reason. Kankuro and Temari say it's the sadness that I will never truly know him. Whatever. Anyway, about Sasuke. I agree it's really creepy the way he's acting. Maybe he's got a Lolita complex or something. When you all arrive, I'll help look after Rin. Oh ya, I've met your Fifth Hokage, You're right; she does look like she's twenty. When Kankuro saw her, he had a huge nosebleed and fainted. When we got home, he immediately said that Konaha defiantly has the "hottest girls" in the world. He fainted AGAIN when Temari told him that Hokage Tsunade was at least fifty. Ha-ha!!! Anyway, I hope I see you again soon. Lot's of love._

_Your boyfriend,_

_Gaara_

_P.S. Thanks for telling me why Sasuke's emo. It answered a lot of questions. I just have one question. Why'd Itachi kill his entire family?_

_P.P.S. Doesn't your sensei already have a boyfriend?_

_P.P.P.S. If you want to, you could live with me and my family. I already talked to Kankuro and Temari about it and I've asked your sensei and Hokage-sama if it's ok and they were all fine with it. I can share a room with you or I'll stay on the couch. I don't sleep anyway, so it's fine by me. Please let me know if it's ok with you._

Gaara sent the letter and went back to his Inbox. Naruto's reply still hadn't come. He sat back in his chair and waited.

"You have new mail from _shukakumanyuubin.jp_. Do you wish to have it read?" asked the robotic voice on Toph's computer.

"Yes." Toph said. The computer proceeded to read the letter. As she heard it, Toph's eyes grew wide. She could LIVE with Gaara? That would be the best!!!!! When the email was done, she went to her computer and typed a quick reply, saying she wanted to live with them. She sent the email, signed out, and ran out her room. Zuko and his uncle were in the living room, sipping tea. They looked up at her as she entered.

"What seems to be the problem?" Uncle Iroh asked calmly. Toph smiled widely.

"Gaara's invited me to stay with him in the apartment they live in!!" she announced. Zuko looked unsurprised.

"We know. Ishizu-sensei just called us to tell us. You'll be moving with them." He looked sad. Toph gave him a quick hug and ran to pack up all her stuff. She looked around the room and smiled.

"_Goodbye."_ she thought.

Toph's moving with Gaara!!!! This was one of my favorite scenes to think off, but my real favorite is while she's moving there. Just in case you're curious, Gaara WILL be meeting Toph's parents in later chapters!!!! I'm looking forward to that!!!!


	15. First Day wGaaraStarting as a Disaster

TOPH'S MOVING!!! This is also where Katara finds out about Toph and Gaara's _relationship_. YAY!!!! Enjoy and REVIEW!!!!! It seriously makes my day when I see reviews!!! So, keep them coming!!!!!!.

The next morning, Toph woke up nice and early so they could move. All of her belongings were in boxes. She rolled up her futon and packed it into a bag, which she threw into a corner with the rest of her belongings. She looked around. Her room felt barren and empty, like the desert Katara, Aang, Sokka, and she had been trapped in so long ago. She sighed. It felt like centaury's had gone by since she left her parents in Gao-Ling to pursue the world and train Aang.

"_I wonder how Mom and Dad would react if they found out I have a boyfriend who used to murder people for fun."_ she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted with a loud honk from outside the window.

"TOPH!!!!!! The movers are here!!!! Let's get a move on if we don't want to be late!!!" Zuko screamed from outside. Toph groaned and began lifting the boxes. She went into the living room, where the movers were entering. She set them on the floor and they began going around, taking everything. She ran down to the entrance of the apartment. Zuko and his uncle were there. She ran up to them and gave them both a big bear hug.

"I'll miss you a lot." she murmured. Zuko smiled sadly.

"Don't worry. You'll have a lot more fun with your boyfriend than with me." he replied to comfort her. She smiled a little happier.

"Toph-san, Zuko-san. Let's go. We must arrive in Domino by lunchtime so you can settle in and buy your school uniforms. You start school tomorrow. Also, we need to drop you off at your new family's house, Toph. They are treating you to lunch, I believe." Iroh gently reminded. Zuko and Toph nodded and entered the small car; Iroh at the wheel, Zuko in the front passengers seat, and Toph in the back. They drove off, the movers van close behind them. As they drove off, Toph stared blankly out the window next to her, thinking about her new life. She was excited and nervous about how Gaara's siblings would receive her. She didn't know them that well. Heck, she'd never even spoken to them except for the first time she met Gaara.

"_I hope they like me and are nice to me."_ she thought worriedly. After a half an hour, they reached Domino city. Toph turned to Zuko.

"What's it look like?" she asked.

"Well…there are huge buildings everywhere. There are people walking on the sidewalk and there are cars everywhere. It's really noisy and busy. Total opposite of Konaha." Zuko described. Toph nodded and turned back towards her window. She felt homesick already. The car suddenly stopped.

"Toph-san. This is your stop. I see your friend Gaara outside waving. I'll help unload your belongings." Iroh said.

"You don't need to. I only have two boxes, a small handbag, and a bag with my futon. I can get them out." Toph said, then got out of the car. She felt Gaara's footsteps run towards her quickly and she was soon engulfed in Gaara's arms.

"Welcome home. Toph-kun." she heard Gaara whisper. She smiled.

"Thanks." she murmured.

Gaara held Toph for what seemed for ages and finally let go to help unload her stuff. Once they finished unloading the boxes, Toph waved goodbye to Zuko and Iroh and the two cars left. Gaara turned to Toph.

"Come on!! I'll show you our apartment!!!!" he said unusually enthusiastically. Toph looked surprised.

"You're being quite enthusiastic today. Any particular reason?" she asked. Gaara grinned.

"As I seem to recall, today's the day that the love of my life is moving in with me and my siblings." he replied. Toph blushed slightly.

"By the way, you two _lovebirds_ are sharing a room." Kankuro popped up behind them as he said this. Toph looked even more surprised.

"We're sharing a room?" she said. Kankuro nodded.

"Gaara's idea, of course. He's quite protective of you. Besides, he can't sleep so he can't do anything _improper_ to you." Temari popped up ,smacked him on the head and turned to Toph.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you. Come on, I'll help you unpack." she said enthusiastically and picked up on of the boxes. Toph picked up the other box and her handbag, and Gaara took her futon. They went to the elevator.

"Our apartment is on the top floor, so we'll take the elevator." Gaara said. Toph smiled queasily. She was scared of heights. They finally reached the top floor. Kankuro unlocked the door (he was the only one not carrying stuff) and they entered. Temari, Toph, and Gaara put down their load.

"We'll unpack later. Right now, let's go get some lunch." Temari said. They went back down. Temari hailed a cab and they piled in. Toph turned to Gaara.

"Where are we going?" she asked Gaara smiled and leaned to her.

"A restaurant called Fuzion. It's one of the best restaurants around. They have food from The Earth Kingdom, Sunagakure, Konahagakure, the Water Tribe, the Fire Nation, etc." Toph looked worried.

"Is it expensive?" she asked. Temari heard and chuckled.

"Don't worry about cost, Toph-kun. It's our treat. Besides, we're pretty rich now since Gaara's Kazekage." she assured.

"Ok, if you say so." Toph said. They arrived at the restaurant. There were a LOT of people there. Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, and Toph went to the front, where a waiter was. Gaara went up to him.

"Sorry, son. You can only get in with a reservation." The waiter looked smug. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"We do have a reservation. Under Kazekage." he said. The waiter raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Let me check." He said, then went through the data base. He looked up.

"You were right. I apologize for my rude conduct. Right this way sir." The group followed the waiter to a table near the window. They sat down; Toph and Temari on one side and Gaara and Kankuro on the other side. The waiter gave them their menus and left.

Toph immediately opened hers and activated her special jutsu. Chakra flew into her hands and she felt the menu. As she went through, the images of the menu flew into her brain. Temari looked at her.

"Nice technique." she commented.

"Thanks. I developed it myself." she replied. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.

"Toph-chan?" Katara's voice rang out. Toph looked up and felt her footsteps come closer. She looked in that direction.

"_Oh shit!!! Katara still doesn't know that I'm dating Gaara or that I'm going to live with them!!! What do I do???"_ she thought frantically. Temari looked at Toph.

"Are you ok?" she whispered. Toph shook her head.

"That girl who just called out my name. That's Katara. She doesn't know that I'm with Gaara." Temari bit her lip. She did not know what to do. Katara went up to Toph.

"Toph. May I have a private word with you?" Katara asked, restraining herself. Toph shrugged.

"Sure," she said then turned to Gaara, Temari and Kankuro and continued, "please excuse me for a moment." Katara walked towards the girl's bathroom, Toph following her. They finally stopped. Katara turned to Toph.

"What are you doing with that…that…that MONSTER and his two traitorous siblings? Don't you know who they are?" she demanded. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Of course I know who they are. They are Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of the Sand village. They are the children of Fourth Kazekage who was recently murdered by Orochimaru." she stated.

"You forgot important details!!!!!" Katara yelled.

"What did I forget?" Toph asked cockily. Katara groaned exasperatedly.

"You forgot that they are TRAITORS!!!! Their village broke the treaty between Suna and Konaha and ATTACKED us!!!! THEY are the reason why we have to move out of Konaha and live in Domino!!!!! GAARA is the reason why Rock Lee might never be a shinobi!!!!!! GAARA is a monster, KANKURO is a flirt, and TEMARI is a power-obsessed ninja!!!!! And you are eating LUNCH with them as if you are FRIENDS???!!!!" she lectured. Toph rolled her eyes.

"They happen to be my new family." she retorted. Katara's mouth flew open.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY????!!!!! Y-you're MOVING IN with THEM??!!!!" she almost screamed. Toph nodded.

"Toph, what has gotten into you? Have you gone nuts?" Katara yelled.

"I'm also dating Gaara." Toph added.

"You're. Dating. HIM???!!! HOW LONG???!!!!" Katara was now screaming and everyone was looking their way. Toph clenched her teeth.

"For a while now. Ever since the end of the preliminaries of the 2nd Chunnin Exams." she murmured. Katara groaned and smacked her head.

"Have you gone nuts?" she said even more irritated.

"I'm in love, if that's what you mean. And by the way, what are you doing here?" she replied. Katara stood up straighter.

"I am here with Jet and Sokka and Suki to celebrate moving here." she said. Toph grinned cheekily.

"Oh, so it's a group date. Where's Aang?" Toph asked.

"He hasn't arrived. And NO it's NOT a group date!!!! But that's beside the point!!! How can you say you're in LOVE? You're too young." she yelled.

"Whatever." Toph said and walked off to her table. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were staring at her as she sat down.

"Did everything go ok?" Temari asked worriedly. Toph shrugged.

"The normal. Katara lectured me like a Mom and I ignored her…" she sighed, "she did lose her cool, which is a first." Gaara reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"Everything will be Ok, babe." he comforted softly. Toph grinned at him.

"Thanks…" she looked at her menu, "now, let's order some food!! I'm hungry!!!!" she said.

I hope you enjoyed it!!!!! There was lot's of yelling. Sorry if Katara seemed a little OOC, but that's what I wanted since she's gotta go crazy about Toph and Gaara. Anyway, REVIEW!!!!


	16. I NEED A BREAK!

Author's Note

Hey, y'all!!!! I'm going to be taking a HUGE break from writing for a while, like a couple weeks or a month. It's not that I'm sick of fanfiction (I love it). I'm just really stressed with school, violin, flute, karate, family, friends, and many other problems (including the fact that I'm being sexually harassed by some freak in my karate school). I need to take a break from the world, as I'm really close to just bursting into flames and doing something reckless and regrettable (I won't go into details…). I've not been getting enough sleep from worrying about too many things, causing me to fall asleep on my bike when going to school and almost get hit by a car, which would be really freaky. I'm also getting REALLY depressed; causing my friends to think I'm emo and my parents to start thinking I need therapy. I'd just like to thank all of my readers and reviewers for putting up with my weirdness and for supporting me. I'd especially like to thank **_Jigoku ShoujosRevenge _**for their two reviews for Gaara's One True Wish and for favoring it. I'd like to thank _**alamoon**_ for always reviewing my work every time I update From Egypt to Domino and giving me nice feedback. I'd also like to thank Anonymous for their constant reviewing as well. It makes me feel a little better to see these reviews. Spongy Ninja and I would also like to thank _**2b1b**_for being the first person to favor Ocean Ninja. Dude, you have NO idea how happy my brother was when he found out that his story was favored. I'd just also like to say that I'm really happy that my stories aren't just read by fellow Americans, but are also read by people in different countries. That just blew my mind away and I'm glad I found out. Don't worry, this isn't the last you'll be hearing from me. After a little break, I'll be back refreshed and ready to ROCK OUT LOUD!!!! Sayonara until next time!!!!!!!

-Gaaramania101

P.S. I'd also like some ideas for my fanfiction stories since I have writers block and I'm also planning ahead. Also, some oneshot ideas would be nice, as well as plot ideas for stories that aren't manga mashups!!! I want to expand my repertoire!!! Arigato gozaimasu? Merci beaucoup !!!! Gracias!!!!! Dhanya bad!!!! And finally, thank you!!!!


	17. The Letter

Ok guys I'm back and REFRESHED!! Thanks for all the feedback and positive comments!!!! I hope you like this chapter!! I worked long and hard on this!!!! Please R&R!!!!

Lunch managed to go smoothly. Toph, Gaara, and Temari sat back lazily in their chairs while Kankuro wolfed down the rest of his dessert. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Futtota buta1. You'll make us broke if you keep ordering food!!!!!" Gaara complained.

"Aw, shut it Gaara. I'm hungry. I haven't had a good meal since we came. Temari's cooking is SOOO bad." he whined. Temari smacked him on the head.

"My cooking's not that bad, you know." she retorted, making a hurt pouty face at him. Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Right. And all the stomach problems I've developed ever since we moved here are just a coincidence," he turned to Toph and continued, "just to warn you, Temari's cooking is REALLY bad!!!!!!!" Toph smirked.

"Really? You ever tried Sokka's cooking?" she asked. Kankuro shook his head.

"He tested his first miso soup on this stray pig we found a while ago. It took one sip and died on the spot. Someone else who's a worse cook is my sensei's Oniisan2, Odion. He tried to make toast, and the toaster blew up." she said. Gaara started laughing.

"That **hic** is just **hic** the most **hic** funniest thing I**hic** have ever **hic** heard." he managed to say. Toph smirked.

"I've never seen you laugh that hard, dude." she remarked.

"I've never heard anything that funny." he finally replied after calming down, with some difficulty. The waiter came over and brought the bill. Temari took out a wallet and took out a number of bills. She paid the bill, and they left. Temari hailed another cab, and they headed towards the shopping district to get Toph's school uniform. They bought it (a white blouse, an orange blazer w/a green bow tie, and a mid-thigh length green plaited skirt.) and left for the apartment. On the way to the apartment, Toph turned to Gaara.

"What's Domino Jr. High like? Are the teachers nice?" she asked. Gaara shrugged.

"It's an ok school. The teachers are nice, but boring. But," he smirked, "I have a feeling things are gonna be a helluva lot different now that you, Naruto, and the others are moving here."

"Different how?" Toph asked. Gaara's smirk grew wider.

"Different as in more interesting." he replied. Toph nodded. The taxi stopped and they all got out. Temari paid the driver and they went up to the apartment. They entered it and Toph and Gaara went into Gaara's room and began to unpack Toph's belongings. While they were unpacking, the phone rang. The two of them ignored it and kept unpacking. Kankuro entered the room with the phone in his hand.

"Toph, it's for you." he said. Toph looked up.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Your sensei." Toph grabbed the phone from Kankuro.

"_**Toph-kun? Is that you?"**_ Ishizu-sensei's voice sounded motherly, as usual. There was a bit of urgency in her voice, however, like something was wrong.

"Ya, it's me. What's the matter, sensei?" Toph asked.

"_**Your parents have found out you're a ninja in Konaha and that you're in Domino. They're demanding that you go back to Gao-Ling."**_ Toph's mouth flew open.

"How the hell did they find out??" she yelled into the phone, ignoring Gaara's perplexed looks at her.

"_**Calm down!! That's what we're trying to figure out, Toph-kun. Hokage Tsunade-sama knows about your relationship with your parents and she's doing her best to find out how they know as well as juggle all her other duties. Seto-kun in also working his best to find out so we can make sure that they won't kidnap you and forcibly make you go back like back in Ba Sing Se."**_ Ishizu replied.

"Sensei…how'd you find out they're tracking me?" Toph asked softly.

"_**Tsunade-sama received an email from your parents. She forwarded it to me and Seto. I've forwarded it to you, so you can read it."**_ Ishizu answered. Toph bit her lip.

"Thank you sensei…I'll tell Gaara-kun and his siblings about this and I'll look at the letter." she whispered weakly.

"_**Bye, Toph-kun."**_

"Bye, sensei." Toph put down the phone. She felt Gaara's footsteps go towards her and soon felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Anything wrong?" he asked. Toph looked up and smiled weakly.

"Ya. My parents know that I'm a ninja and that I'm in Domino. They've sent a letter to Tsunade-sama, who forwarded it to Ishizu-sensei, who's forwarded it to me." There was no reply from Gaara. Toph was afraid he'd left. Much to her relief, he finally answered.

"Can I see the email your parents sent Tsunade-sama?" Toph nodded.

"I was just about to see it anyway." she replied. Gaara nodded, booted up his laptop, and turned on the internet to _www.yuubin.jp_.

"What's your password?" he asked. Toph walked over to the computer.

"I'll type it in." she said, activating her special Reading jutsu. Gaara looked away as she signed herself in. Toph stepped back and Gaara looked at the screen. There was one new mail, whose subject said: _Fwd: Fwd: Toph Bei Fong_. He turned to Toph.

"I think I know what email it is." Toph smirked at his remark. Gaara grinned back and went to the screen, opening the email. It read:

_Toph-kun. Here it the email that your parents sent Hokage-sama:_

_Dear Hokage Tsunade-sama,_

_I believe you are familiar with our daughter, Toph Bei Fong. A couple months ago, our daughter was kidnapped by the Avatar and his comrades and taken away to an unknown location. We have searched long and hard for her and we finally located her in Konaha, then Domino. It is of the most absolute importance that Toph is returned to us, as her "condition" is extremely critical._

_As you might know, Toph is blind, which enables her unable to survive in this world. At home, she was sheltered and protected from the world's harshness. Now that she has left, she is vulnerable to harm. Toph is a very simple, fragile, timid, and vulnerable child and she is not ready for the world. Please give Toph to us, as we are frantic with worry. We will pay handsomely for her return._

_Please reply. We would like to meet with you as well, along with her ninja sensei._

_Mr. and Mrs. Bei Fong_

Gaara finished reading the email and looked toward Toph, who was standing behind him looking very curious.

"It's absolute bullshit, I swear. It's as if your parents don't even know you." he said in disgust. Toph shrugged.

"That's how my parents think of me. I've always acted because that's what they expect of me." she replied.

"Still, they are so wrong about how you are. You aren't timid, vulnerable to harm, or any of that other bullshit. You are complex, tough, smart, and HOT!!!!" he argued. Toph blushed.

"Um, thanks? I'm not really hot." she mumbled. Gaara frowned slightly and walked towards her, claiming her lips in response. Toph's eyes widened in shock, then fluttered close. Gaara wrapped his arms around Toph's waist and pulled her closer.

"OI!!! NO MAKING OUT IN THIS HOUSE!!!!!" Gaara and Toph pulled apart and looked toward the direction of the voice. Temari and Kankuro were standing in the doorway, arms crossed and frowning. Gaara and Toph looked at each other and began to laugh, Kankuro and Temari joining in.

Here it is!!!! The next chappie is the first day of school. In case u were wondering, I like making Gaara and Toph hav their little…moments. Anyway, hopefully I won't take as long for the other chapters, but I do have other fanfics to work on and, FYI I do have a life outside of this!!!!! Anyway, R&R s'il vous plait!!!!

1 Futtota buta-fat pig.

I'm not sure whether I'm using it in proper context. Please tell me if I am if you know!!!!

2 Oniisan-older brother


	18. The Secret's OUT!

.x. _OMG HI!!! I'm back with another chapter!!!!! ENJOY!!!! BTW, disclaimer's on my profile/bio thingy!!!!!! Oh ya, rly sry about Natsumi's stupid jibes about my reviewers!! I love you all!!! She's…weird that way. Oh well, let's make with the reading!!!!_ .x.



"Hey, wake up sleepy head. It's time for school." Gaara whispered gently. Toph stirred and hid her face in the pillow of her futon.

"Five more minutes, Gaara-kun." she mumbled crankily. Gaara shook his head and smirked.

"Don't make me get a bucket of water." he whispered. In a flash, Toph jerked her head up towards him.

"You wouldn't." she said in horror. Gaara nodded.

"Yeah, I would. Now come on. We'll be late for school." Toph grumbled as she lifted herself out of the warmth of her futon. Gaara kissed her on the cheek.

"That's my girl. Now come on, let's get dressed.

Minutes later, Toph stepped out of the bathroom wearing her uniform, except the tie, which she held in her hand, and her hair pulled back into a braided ponytail.

"Hey, Gaara? Could you help me with the tie? I've never worn one before." she asked. Gaara nodded and walked over to her, reaching for the tie. He grabbed it and tied it around her neck perfectly, keeping quiet while doing so. When he finished he stepped back, admiring the way Toph looked. Toph noticed how quiet he was and became worried.

"Gaara is there something wrong?" she asked. Gaara looked taken aback and shook his head.

"Oh no there isn't anything wrong. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have such a beautiful girlfriend." Toph blushed.

"HEY YOU TWO!!! COME ON!!! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!!!!" Temari yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah yeah, we know." Gaara grumbled, leading Toph out of their room. When they reached the kitchen, only Temari was there, dressed in her uniform and an apron, with a frying pan in her hand. There was a pungent odor in the air of burnt toast, which emitted from the plate in the middle on the table. Toph grabbed a piece from the plate and turned to Temari.

"Where's Kankuro?" she asked, then shoved the piece into her mouth. Temari shrugged.

"Probably still sleeping, the lazy bastard. When I'm done with breakfast, I'll go wake him up," Temari paused for a moment, then asked, "do you think I should use a bucket of ice cold water or should I plug in my iPod, put it on _**Heroes Comeback**_ by _**nobodyknows **_1 at the highest volume, plug the earphones in his ears, and play the song?"

"iPod, definitely." Toph replied, her mouth full of burnt toast. Temari grinned at Toph, then set down the pan and left to go and get her iPod. The moment she left, Toph ran to the garbage can and spit out the blackened remains of the toast, as Gaara looked on, laughing his head off.

"My God, you guys were RIGHT!!!!!! She really IS a horrible cook!!!!!!!" she choked out. Gaara nodded, still laughing.

"I told you so!!!" he managed to say after he calmed down. He grabbed two apples from the fruit bowl nearby and handed one to Toph, saying "Eat this. It's safer." Toph grabbed it and took a huge bite out of it.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!! Something edible!!!!!" she sighed in relief. The two of them ate their apples in silence, when all of a sudden there was a loud screech coming from Kankuro and Temari's bedroom.

"KANKURO, WHAT THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU READING???!!!!" they heard Temari scream. Moments later, Kankuro ran into the room, still wearing his PJ's, and clutching a magazine with very _disturbing_ photos on the cover. Temari came running after him, her iPod in one hand and a **very** thick Algebra 2/Trig textbook in the other hand. As Temari chased Kankuro around the house, Gaara and Toph watched in silence.

"Should we call the police?" Toph finally asked. Gaara shook his head.

"Nah, let's leave them be. Besides," he turned to Toph with a fake smile and continued, "There is absolutely NO way I'm risking my neck for that moron. Anyway, we should get going. School will start in a little bit. We'll leave those two with their little shenanigans." Toph nodded ok and grabbed his hand. Together, they left the apartment hand in hand, on the way to school.

"Shikamaru-kun, isn't that Toph-kun and that freaky Gaara dude over there?" Ino asked. The spiky-haired boy turned towards the direction Ino was pointing towards.

"Yeah that is. What about it?" he said indifferently. Ino nudged him.

"Take a good look at them. They're HOLDING HANDS!!!!!" Shikamaru squinted and, sure enough, they were holding hands.

"What about it?" he asked again. Ino groaned.

"HELLO???? They're. Holding. HANDS!!!! Do you know what that MEANS?!!!: she bellowed. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No Ino, I'm proud to say that I DON'T know what that means and I really don't want to know because it'll probably be a drag." he said. Ino rolled her eyes and waved towards Sakura, who was approaching them along with Naruto and Sasuke.

"OY!!! BILLBOARD BROW!!!! Explain to Shikamaru-kun what holding hands is a symbol of!!!!" she yelled. Sakura nodded and turned to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, when a girl and a guy hold hands, that means that they're going steady." she explained in an as-a-matter-of-fact air. Shikamaru gave her a clueless look.

"And that means…what?" Naruto groaned and grabbed Shikamaru by the shoulders.

"IT MEANS THEY ARE DATING!!!! GOING OUT!!! BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND!!!" he screamed while shaking Shikamaru back and forth. Finally, he released Shikamaru, who shook his head to clear it out, then faced Ino.

"So what you're saying is since Toph and Gaara are holding hands, they're dating? That's totally ludicrous. Where's your proof?" he asked, but was knocked aside by Sakura and Naruto.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!! TOPH AND GAARA ARE HOLDING HANDS?!!!!" they both bellowed. Ino nodded and pointed to them.

"Take a good look." Sakura and Naruto's mouths flew open.

"They're DATING???!" Naruto screamed.

"Yeah they are, bakatare. Didn't you know that?" Sasuke suddenly said. Everyone turned towards him.

"You knew?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Yeah, for a while. I saw then kissing during that mission where Naruto and I had to rescue you from Gaara." he said coolly. Everyone was silent, including Shikamaru.

"W-wait. You saw them _kissing_. As in, mouth to mouth." Naruto stuttered. Sasuke nodded. Naruto was silent for a moment, then ran towards Gaara and Toph screaming, "HEY YOU TWO!!! IS IT TRUE YOU GUYS ARE DATING????!!!!"

Gaara and Toph turned as Naruto ran to them.

"Yes, Naruto?" Gaara asked calmly. Naruto took a couple minutes to collect himself.

"Is it true that you guys are dating?" he finally asked. Gaara and Toph looked at each other.

"Should we tell the truth?" Gaara whispered. Toph shrugged.

"Sure, why not? What harm could it be?" she whispered back. They both turned towards Naruto, who was waiting in anticipation.

"Yes, we are." They both answered, both unaware of the trouble it would soon bring them.



.x_. YUP!!!! That's right!!! The secret is OUT!!!! Which means a lot of hilarious turmoil will happen!!! Don't worry, the two of them will in fact remain close until the very very end!!!!! BTW, the way Ino, Sakura, and Naruto act is basically the way all my classmates at school act and the way Shikamaru reacts is how I am when it comes to gossip. Obviously, it shows I'm not really that into it. __**sigh**__ it's such a waste of precious time ____. BTW, the magazines that Kankuro is caught with are PORNOGRAPHY MAGAZINES __**XP**__!!!!!!! Hee hee, I'm really disturbed, as you can probably tell. Oh ya, my problems are semi gone. I've been able to sleep some more (which is TERRIFIC) and I got my semester grades back!! All A's and one B in Geometry!!!! Whew, for a second, I thought I wasn't get a great grade in English (I was close to failing) but I managed to pull through!! THANK YOU EXTRA CREDIT!!!!! My harasser's not leaving me alone, but my friends at karate (who DON'T THINK HE'S HOT) are quite supportive!!!! And finally, I've been able to balance between schoolwork, violin and flute, although I'm going nuts with orchestra auditions. Wa!!!!! Oh, if you're wondering why I changed my name to Desi.Gaara.Gal.101, it's quite simple. I FELT LIKE IT!!!!! Anyway, bye bye!! See you next time!!! Enjoy!!! And finally, REVIEW DAMMIT!!! REVIEW!!!!!_ .x.

1 _**Heroes Comeback**_ by _**nobodyknows **_: first theme song for Naruto Shippuden. If you've heard it, then you know that it's kinda…LOUD!!!!!!-


	19. Buddy Brawls and Dissecting Daffodils

_.x. WHAT'S UP PEOPLE? I'm back with another chapter! Sorry about taking so long. A LOT has been going on, but we'll discuss all that after reading. Now then, make with the fucking reading! .x._



"**WHAT DID YOU SAY**?!" Sokka screamed. Toph sighed and repeated what she said again.

"I'm dating Gaara and I'm living with him." Sokka's mouth flew open.

"Are you **NUTS**? He could **KILL YOU**!!" Katara nodded.

"That's what I told her, but she won't listen to me!" she complained. Toph rolled her eyes.

"You guys are overreacting. Gaara is an **AWESOME** guy!! He's just really misunderstood! Anyway, Rock Lee forgave him for what happened and Gaara's vowed never to kill unless absolutely necessary! So you can **FORGET** about using those excuses!" she said defensively. Sokka crossed his arms over his chest.

"What about Ishizu-sensei, Zuko, and Rin? Are they ok with him?" he asked. Toph nodded.

"I highly doubt it." Katara muttered. Toph turned towards her.

"Believe what you want to believe. But I thought you guys were my friends! And friends support each other, which you guys aren't doing!" and with that, she marched off. Aang sighed.

"Maybe she is right. Maybe Gaara is trustworthy." And he turned to follow Toph to apologize. Katara turned to Sokka, who looked at her curiously.

"What? I still don't trust that boy!" And she walked off towards her classroom as the bell rang. Sokka sighed.

"Why is it **MY** friends have the messed up issues?" he mumbled as he turned towards his classroom.

Toph stomped into the science class. Hinata (who's her lab partner) looked up.

"W-what's t-the matter, T-Toph-chan?" she asked timidly. Toph turned to her.

"Katara, Sokka, and Aang were being assholes, again." Hinata looked confused.

"Wait, aren't t-they your friends?" she asked. Toph sighed and shrugged.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure about anything. Everything is so confusing. I can't tell who I can trust. God, sometimes I wish I'd never left my parent's house in Gao-Ling." she said, a little quieter. Hinata looked shocked.

"T-Toph-kun! H-How can you say that?! If you h-hadn't left, then y-you wouldn't h-have m-m-met Gaara-san, Naruto-san, and everyone else! And G-Gaara-san wouldn't have changed!" Toph smiled sadly.

"Ya he would. Naruto would have changed him though, not me," she said sadly then turned stern, "And Hinata, one thing I need to say. You have **GOT** to stop stuttering! Naruto's not gonna notice you at all like that!" she continued. Hinata blushed furiously.

"How did you….." she whispered. Toph grinned cheekily.

"Duh, it's obvious. Everyone knows." She looked towards Hinata, who had turned white.

"E-even N-Naruto-san?" she said even more quietly. Toph shook his head and Hinata grew calmer.

"He's so stupid. I swear, what the hell do you see in him? He's not that cute, he's loud and annoying, he's **REALLY** stupid, and he doesn't know when enough is enough!" Toph asked. Hinata blushed.

"All of that, except the first point. He **IS** very cute," she answered, then continued, her eyes became misty in nostalgia, "at first, I just admired him because he was everything I wasn't; confident, stubborn, funny, joyful, and yes, very cute……"

"You happen to be adorable." Toph interrupted. Hinata gave her a look, then went on.

"Anyway, at a certain point during our time at the Academy, it turned into something more. I don't what triggered it, but what ever it was, ever since then my feelings have been more than normal." she finished and turned to Toph, who had tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" Hinata said. Toph shook her head.

"So beautiful…" she whispered.

"What exactly is so beautiful, Beifong-san? Hyuuga-san?" Iruka-sensei's voice cut into their conversation. Toph jumped slightly.

"Oh, Iruka-sensei! We were…um…discussing the….uh… the beauty of….uh….."

"These daffodils we are supposed to dissect for class." Hinata said quickly. Toph nodded quickly in agreement.

"**YAH**! We also said it was such a shame we had to dissect them, **cough** hint hint." she said. Iruka-sensei raised his eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing and moved on. Toph exhaled.

"Whew. That was a close one. Good excuse, Hinata." she said.

"You do realize I wasn't lying. We **ARE** dissecting daffodils and sketching them with labels in our scientific notebooks." Hinata said unusually briskly. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Duh I know that. I'm not stupid, unlike Naruto. Now let's get dissecting," she sad and picked up a small ruler, "Is this what we use to cut it open?" Hinata laughed and took it out of her hand.

"**NO**! That's my ruler! We're cutting with something different. I'll do the cutting." Hinata replied.

"Shit. I wanted to cut stuff open. I never get to do that." Toph said, pouting. Hinata giggled.

"Fine! You can cut it. But **BE CAREFUL**!!" Toph gave her a thumbs-up similar to that of Naruto and began cutting the poor daffodil open viciously.

"Looks like I finally found you." Gaara said. Toph turned around and smiled happily. She was lying down on the lawn of the school, waiting for Gaara to come out. She patted the grass next to her. Gaara obliged and joined her, though he didn't lie down, but just sat up. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Finally, Gaara spoke.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

"Lying down on the school lawn." Toph replied dreamily.

"Yah that's obvious. But **WHY**?"

"Just because."

"Because?"

"Just… because." Gaara groaned.

"Ok Toph, enough mysterious mumbo-jumbo. Just fucking tell me."

"I wanna be with you without all those stupid people annoying us." she said. Gaara smiled and bent down to kiss her cheek. Toph smiled cheekily and grabbed his jacket. Gaara looked down at her hand.

"Toph, what are you….." he asked, but got cut off by Toph as she pulled his face down to hers, connecting their lips together hard. Soon, Gaara was hovering over her on, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other one supporting him on the ground, and his knees on either side of her legs. He broke their kiss and looked at Toph, panting slightly for air. She was smiling up at him, her cheeks bright red, and her chest falling up and down while she breathed. He bent down and began kissing her cheek, then began moving down the side of her face, kissing every bit of skin he hadn't already, until he got to her neck. He began nibbling at it softly, making Toph gasp softly.

"Gaara." Toph moaned softly. Gaara stopped and looked at Toph's face. Her eyes were shut, and she was breathing deeply. He removed his hand from other her head and moved it to her cheek, which he stroked softly as he continued to stare at her.

"My bijin1" he whispered softly.

"**TOPH!** **WHAT** **THE** **HELL** **ARE YOU** **DOING** **WITH** **THAT** **BOY?!**" Katara's shrill voice pierced through the air. Toph sat up, pushing Gaara back.

"Holy shit. Let's get out of here." she whispered. Gaara smirked.

"I'm with you on that." he replied and pulled her. Toph dusted herself and turned towards Katara.

"See ya later, sucker!" she yelled, then grabbed Gaara's hand and the ran as fast as the could away, laughing their heads off.



_.x. That was a fun chapter to write. OK, here's the deal. My parents put this "screen ban" on Spongey Ninja and I since they believe that we are not focusing enough on our schoolwork (I wish they could go into my head, then they'd realize how stupid that statement is) and less on "screens". It is with much anger, huffing and puffing, and tantrum throwing that Spongey Ninja and I gave them our electronic appliances and shut down our computers. That was two or three weeks ago. Today, Mom and Dad finally realized that we are working very hard and let off the ban just for today. Therefore, I'm utilizing the time as much as possible. From now one, if you wanna see what's going on with me, go to _**What's Up Right Now?**_ on my profile page. I try to update it as much as possible, so keeping going there and hopefully I'll be able to update every day. Now then, _**REVIEW****REVIEW****REVIEW**_!! Bye bye!! .x._

1 Bijin-Beautiful woman


	20. The In Law Issue Enters the Picture

_.x. Hi everyone, I'm back!! My parents are way more lenient with the techno ban, so Spongey Ninja and I are using it to our advantage. I think this chapter is longer than normal, but I'm not sure. PLEASE ENJOY!! .x._



As time passed, Toph grew more comfortable with her new life in Domino. It gradually grew into a daily pattern of eating, sleeping, school, homework, training, and spending her free time with Gaara, whether it was at home alone or with her other friends.

"**TOPH!!** **COME** **TO** **THE** **LIVING** **ROOM** **NOW!!**" Temari called from the living room one Saturday afternoon. Gaara had been out since morning on "confidential Kazekage business", so Toph went to occupy herself with homework, which was what she was doing at that moment. She turned off the radio, put down her homework, and went to the living room. Temari was there.

"We have orders to go meet Lady Tsunade in an hour, which means we have to leave now." Temari informed Toph. Toph looked puzzled.

"Why? Does this have anything to do with Mom and Dad?" she asked. Temari shook her head.

"I'm not sure what this is about, but I am positive that it has nothing to do with your parents." she assured Toph, giving her a reassuring smile. Toph automatically felt calmer.

"Ok then. Let's go!" she said. Temari nodded.

"How exactly ARE we going to get there?" Kankuro cut in, holding a bottle of peach flavored Ramune1 in his one hand and a magazine in the other (a child appropriate one this time). Temari glared at him.

"We'll hire a taxi, how else?" she spoke through gritted teeth. Kankuro rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, similarly to the way a five year old would, causing Temari to get out of her seat and stomp menacingly towards Kankuro, who cowered into a corner. Toph giggled. She had grown quite fond of the childish quarrels Temari and Kankuro got into, which never ceased to irritate Gaara.

"Well, we'd better get going." she finally interjected. Temari and Kankuro looked, in mid-headlock.

"Ok then." Temari said and detangled herself. They all walked out of the door and into the elevator, where they went all the way down and left the building and into the sparkling sunlight. Temari immediately hailed a taxi, and they entered.

"Where to, miss?" the taxi driver asked lazily.

"Hokage's office, Downtown Konaha village." Temari replied briskly. The taxi driver looked surprised, but said nothing. They sped off, each of the occupants quiet in anxiety and suspense. Finally, they reached their destination. They all got out and Temari paid their sum. The taxi driver looked shocked and as they left, Toph swore she could hear him say, "Damned rich kids." They entered the building and began climbing the long winding staircase, Toph climbing extra carefully so as not to fall off. Finally, they reached the top and approached the lone door that led to the office of the Hokage. Kankuro approached the door tentatively and knocked.

"Come in." Tsunade-sama's voice said calmly on the other side. Kankuro pushed the door open and ushered Toph and Temari in before entering himself. As Toph, entered, she could hear the voices of many people in the room, chattering idly. She could make out the voices of Zuko, Rin, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shino, Aang, Shikamaru, Azula, Mai and Marik, as well as her sensei and the sensei's of everyone else. There were also the three proctors; Morino, Anko, and Genma, standing near the front. In front of everyone were Lady Tsunade and Gaara. Both were standing calmly in front of everyone in the official uniforms of the Kazekage and the Hokage. Although Toph couldn't see Gaara, she could feel his piercing gaze on only her and she blushed, swearing she could hear a low, quiet chuckle. Soon the room became quiet and the eleven genin lined up when ordered by their sensei's, facing the Hokage and Kazekage. Soon, Gaara stepped forward.

"Attention, please. Hokage-sama and I have some announcements to make." he said louder than usual. Toph felt Tsunade get out of her seat and walk towards the crowd.

"As you all know, the Chunnin exams were never finished due to the _invasion_ of Konaha village. However, based on the notes that were left by the former Hokage, we have made a decision on the promotion of the following individuals. Will Toph Beifong, Rin Ishtar, Shikamaru Nara, Aang Kazetsukuru2, and Zuko Kajioo3 please step forward?" Toph and the others stepped forward. Toph felt puzzled.

"_What does Hokage-sama want with us? Have we done something wrong?_" she thought to herself as she stepped forward. When all of the requested people had stepped forward, Tsunade-sama smiled.

"All of those who I asked to step forward were the most highly praised by Sandaime-sensei and your proctors during the entire Chunnin Exams. Therefore it is with honor that you are promoted to the rank of Chunnin." she said. There was a slight moment of silence, and then everyone in the room burst into enthusiastic applause. Toph stood there in a daze, almost afraid to move in case this was just a strange dream. Gaara noticed this and stepped towards her carefully. When he reached her, he touched her cheek softly and moved his hand lower, to her shoulder, which he gripped softly, then pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Congratulations, Toph-chan." he murmured softly into her ear. Toph finally snapped out of her daze and hugged him back, tears glistening in her pale green eyes, then cascaded down her pale face.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu4." she whispered to Gaara, who smiled happily. He then let her go and held her hands tightly and cleared his throat. The room then became quiet. Everyone, including Hokage-sama, Temari, and Kankuro, looked puzzled. Gaara took a deep breath and kneeled down on one knee.

"Toph Beifong, I ask you here before all of these witnesses one of the most biggest desires of my life. When you turn eighteen, will you give me the greatest honor of my life, and marry me and become the Kazehime5 of Suna?" he asked. Everyone was silent in shock and Toph began crying even more.

"Y-yes, I will." she said breathlessly, then kneeled down and hugged him tightly. Everyone was silent, then Hokage-sama began clapping loudly, and soon everyone was clapping and whooping and congratulating the new couple. Gaara and Toph then separated and smiled at each other. Gaara then pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside was a ring. It was encrusted with tiny diamonds that sparkled. They surrounded a dark green emerald in the center that set off Toph's pale skin. Gaara slipped it onto the 4th finger of Toph's left hand, then lifted her up. Toph felt Temari and Kankuro walk up towards her and she turned around. Temari smiled.

"Well then, future sister-in-law, shall we go out to eat to celebrate?" Temari asked. Toph nodded.

"Is Fuzion6 ok?" Toph asked. Kankuro smirked.

"You read my mind, sis." he replied.

"What do you kids want to today?" asked the waitress in a bored voice.

"Four specials please." Gaara replied. The waitress wrote it all down, then left. Toph looked surprised.

"Aren't the specials really expensive?" she asked curiously. Gaara shrugged.

"It's a special occasion. Cost means nothing to me at the moment, especially for you." he replied, then winked at Toph. She blushed.

"T-Toph? Is that you?" a female and a male voice said through the crowd. Toph groaned

"_Katara is here AGAIN?_" she thought and turned around. Her mouth flew open.

"O-Okaasan? Otoosan?" Toph whispered, horrified. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari turned around and gaped.

"Those are your parents?" they whispered. Toph nodded, paralyzed. Toph's parents walked towards her, in shock.

"Toph-chan? Is that you? What are you doing here in public, you could hurt yourself!" Toph's mother whimpered in a whiny voice. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Man, your parents are so lame." he whispered. Toph nodded subtly.

"Ya, that's true. Why else do you think I left, other than the fact that I could train?" she whispered. Gaara raised his eyebrows, then turned to Toph's parents, who looked amazed at who Toph was with. He stood up and bowed.

"Hello. You must be Toph's parents." he said politely, hiding his distain. Toph's father looked curious.

"Who are you?" he asked, skipping all sign of formality. Gaara looked surprised.

"I'm Gaara, currently the 5th Kazekage of Suna as well as Toph's fiancé." he replied. Toph's parents looked shocked.

"Fiancé?!" they both yelled. Everyone in the restaurant turned towards them in curiosity. Gaara waved casually.

"There's nothing interesting here. Please go ahead and enjoy your meal." he said charismatically. The populace of the restaurant returned to their meals, while Toph's parents looked around in shock. Toph's father turned to Toph.

"You have no idea how long we have been searching for you! Now, leave your fiancé and come back home." he ordered. Toph shook her head.

"No. This is my home now. There is no way that I am going back to that hellhole you call home." she said, narrowing her eyes at her parents. She turned to Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

"Shall we go?" she asked. Gaara nodded, his eyes still on Toph's parents. Kankuro groaned.

"What about our food? We haven't even gotten it yet!" he complained. Temari smacked him on the head.

"We'll pack it up." she scolded. Almost by magic, their food appeared. Gaara turned to the waitress and smiled.

"Is it ok if we can have some boxes? Here's the payment for the food." he said smoothly. The waitress nodded and left, coming back a couple minutes later with some boxes. Temari and Kankuro began packing everything up quickly. Finally, when they finished, they all stood up. Gaara turned to Mr. and Mrs. Beifong.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, but we really need to go." he said sweetly, then they all left quickly. Mr. Beifong looked at his wife.

"We need to do whatever it takes to get Toph away from those hooligans." he said. Mrs. Beifong nodded.

"I agree."



_.x. That's right. Toph's parents are now in the picture! That means ANGST! DRAMA! ROMANCE!! Trust me, things are gonna get JUICY!! Oh ya, did I mention they are ENGAGED!! Ya, I was gonna do it when they are both 16, but COME ON? That's much later, and I wanted to get some juicy romance in, so why not get them engaged now? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! .x._

1 Ramune-a popular Japanese brand of soda. Flavors are: lemon-lime, pineapple, raspberry, kiwifruit, melon, strawberry, orange, lychee, Blue Hawaii, peach, and wasabi (only available at Tokyu Hands department stores) (ya I know. Wasabi flavored soda? YUCK)

2Kaze-wind  
Tsukuru-To create

3 Kaji-fire  
oo-king (refers to the fact that Zuko is from a royal family)

4 Domo arigato gozaimasu-Thank you very much.

5 Kazehime-Wife of Kazekage. I don't know the real term, so I made it up.

6 Fuzion-see chapter 15: First Day with Gaara/Starting as a Disaster


End file.
